Fourteen Reasons Why I Fell In Love With Benny Weir
by TiredOfBeingNice
Summary: Ethan Morgan loves Benny Weir for a multitude of reasons, but is forced to stand aside and watch as Benny helplessly falls in love with the new girl. Told through a series of unfortunate events and arguments between his morality and his rationality, Ethan has to do whatever it takes to get the boy — even if his dignity is on the line.
1. Cupcakes

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a brand new valentine's day-themed story!**

 **yeah, this is weird. and unexpected! it's been ages since i've written a valentine's day story, and i _still_ don't have anyone to celebrate the holiday with. but hey, being single isn't all that bad...right? _right?_**

 **anyway, do you remember when i said this on february 10th, 2015?**

 **"i had originally planned on doing a different thing for valentine's day, but i figured this [mission cupid] was a better choice because i was less pressured and i was more prepared. maybe next year!"**

 **yes, my 2015 valentine's day fic (which you can find on my profile and give it a read because it's v good #cheekyspon) was actually supposed to be this story, originally named "the fourteen valentine's day antics of ethan morgan" (title is long on purpose). i was supposed to update once a day until valentine's day, but it was a new idea at the time, and i decided to go with the safer route and start "mission cupid".**

 **in 2016, i wanted to make the idea a reality, i really did. but i literally held it off for so long until it was january 29th and i haven't started yet. naturally, i thought i could do it, but turns out the first chapter was actually terrible because of how rushed it was, so i decided to put it off, swearing i will start weeks before the posting date.**

 **it's 2017. i started writing this story one and a half weeks before the posting date.**

 **which isn't bad, considering it was me doing it. luckily, i had a plan to finish half the story before the due date, and continue writing while i'm posting daily so that by the fourteenth, i should already be done the whole series. of course, i had to sneak in some other updates, but this has been a project for a majority of my 2017 so far.**

 **so hopefully my procrastinating-for-two-years has been worth it up until this moment! i guess there's only thing to do, and that's to**

 **ENJOY!**

 ***disclaimer: i still don't own mbav or its characters. big surprise there.**

* * *

 **Day 1: "He mentioned that he'd simply fall in love with whoever gave him a cupcake."**

 **X~*~X**

"First of all, shut up," Ethan said, phone on his shoulder as he walked into his house, "and second of all, _be quiet."_

Benny laughed on the other side of the line. _"You know it's true, E — 'Galaxy-Man' 64 was much better than 'Galaxy-Man 78'."_

Ethan rolled his eyes, closing the door and throwing his bag aside. He kicked off his shoes, still holding his phone between his cheek and his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Benny, but there was something about _Galaxy-Man 78_ that was more appealing than '64. I think the graphics were much better, and the story was actually more clear."

" _Sure the story and the graphics were more compelling, but the game-play was so much better than '78! And '64 actually progressed the plot, while '78 was just milking that franchise dry."_

"Ouch, tough critic, B," Ethan chuckled, picking up his bag and heading upstairs. As he was the first one home, he began to blast loud music on his speakers and put Benny on speaker phone as he began to change.

"Not to mention the soundtrack in '78 was much better," Ethan pointed out. Benny over-dramatically gasped.

" _Are you comparing 'Galaxy-Man 78's soundtrack to 'Galaxy-Man 64's soundtrack? Did you hear the disgusting 'Mind-Dementor's Palace' theme in '78? It was the most anti-climactic song in the whole universe of 'Galaxy-Man'."_

"It was written that way on purpose!" Ethan protested.

" _I cannot believe you are taking Rory's side with this,"_ Benny grumbled. _"If that wasn't the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard…"_

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Listen, B, I have to go. Semester two has already brought many opportunities to be as lazy as possible, so I'm going to try to fight back."

" _You do that,"_ Benny said, and Ethan can almost hear the smile on his face. _"I'll call you later, dude. Cool?"_

"Of course cool," Ethan readily agreed, smiling dumbly. "I'll talk to you later then."

" _Last word!"_ Benny exclaimed, and before Ethan could respond, he was met with a dial tone. He chuckled to himself, throwing his phone on his bed and staring at it.

' _You're doing it again,'_ his conscience reminded him. Ethan rolled his eyes at the thought, flopping on his back. He let the music wash over him and sighed.

' _You got to stop living like a musical cliché,'_ his mind said. _'It's actually quite silly now. Everyone is getting tired of it, including your own brain.'_

Ethan shook his head in disbelief, even if he knew it was true. The only thing that consumed his thoughts were green eyes, striped shirts, and this indescribable magic _he_ had. It was a bit ridiculous, he would admit, but it was true — for a multitude of reasons, he fell in love with Benny Weir.

' _You're doing it again,'_ his brain repeated dully.

His phone suddenly rang once again, and he snapped out of his daze to pick up.

"Hello?"

" _Hi, honey, it's mom,"_ his mom said. _"I just wanted to ask if you can start making the cupcakes that I am making for my book club."_

Ethan sat up. "Wait...you have a book club?"

" _...is that really the response you have for me?"_

"I-I mean, when do you need the cupcakes?" he stuttered, rushing up to his feet and running downstairs to the kitchen, phone still in hand.

" _I need it tonight, but I won't be home for a while because your dad and I are going to Jane's school curriculum night, so you'll have to make them."_

Ethan smiled nervously. "Are you sure you trust me to bake?"

" _I'm sure, honey,"_ she answered distractedly. _"I pre-made the reduced coconut milk and the frosting, so you just need to put it all together. The recipe is on my laptop, so you should be able to find it."_

' _You can make one for Benny,'_ a part of his brain whispered. _'He would love it if you made him a cupcake, and then you can just tell him. Tomorrow is the first day of February after all — season of love, isn't it?"_

"How much do they make?"

" _Eighteen."_

"How much do you need?"

" _Seventeen."_

Ethan grinned. "Then I'm on it."

* * *

He brought his speakers downstairs, along with his mom's laptop. As he tied his mom's bright pink apron on, he scrolled down the recipe.

"Vanilla-bean coconut," he murmured, skimming through the article; "a recipe from 'Cupid's Cupcakes'."

' _Vanilla is his favourite,'_ his brain cheered, _'and he really liked Moana!'_

Ethan smiled to himself as he got the bag of frosting and the bowl of reduced coconut milk out of the fridge. He placed them on the kitchen island and read the ingredients for the cupcakes.

"Two cups of all-purpose flour," he muttered, before looking at the cabinets lining the walls. Humming to the music, he opened the cabinet that conveniently had a sticky note scrawled with 'all-purpose flour' in messy handwriting.

' _Too convenient?'_ his conscience rationalized. Ethan shrugged, dismissing the thought before opening the cabinet and—

"Argh!" Ethan exclaimed, stumbling back as a bag of flour fell on him. He coughed out fluffy white clouds, and caught sight of another sticky note that said 'take that, Susie!' on it.

' _She did say she was going to get revenge on Susie for corrupting her cupcakes once she came over again,'_ his conscience reminded him, and he groaned, grabbing the kitchen island to keep him from seeing. He rubbed his eyes before he realized his mistake.

"Shit!" he cursed, getting some flour in his eye and desperately tried to rub it out. However, it made it worse, and a sharp stab of pain shot at his eyes.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he yelled, running to the sink in attempts of washing it out. The flour became sticky, and in frustration, he grabbed his phone on the counter and dialed his mom.

"Jane's stupid prank just got all-purpose flour in my eyes!" Ethan yelled furiously when his mom picked up. He could hear Jane snicker in the background.

" _Oh dear, I think there might still be some in the basement?"_ his mom prompted, and as Ethan blindly walked out of the kitchen, he slipped on some stray flour and fell on his back.

He could hear Jane laughing, and he groaned loudly before hanging up. He lied down on the ground and refused to get up.

' _For Be-nny,'_ his mind sing-songed. He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up, brushing some flour off and stomping his way down the basement for more flour.

When he found it, he went back to the kitchen and as he dusted some of the flour off the kitchen island, read on.

"Baking powder," he muttered, and slowly checked every cabinet. He slowly cracked them open before hiding behind the cabinet door in a swift motion. He warily peeked behind it in case of another prank, and sighed, grabbing the baking powder and slamming it closed.

He grabbed some salt and sugar from the bottom cabinet, and then proceeded to get butter.

"What even is salted butter?" Ethan grumbled, annoyed at the fact that it has been ten minutes into his baking adventure and he was already failing. As he opened the fridge, the website helpfully reminded him that he needed three large eggs.

He stared at the eggs in the fridge and frowned — surely they were big enough, weren't they?

' _Get a ruler,'_ his mind immediately compromised.

"I'm not measuring the damn egg," he murmured, staring at the size of the egg. "That has to be a large egg...right?"

' _Measure it,'_ his brain pressed. _'You want this to be perfect, don't you?'_

Ethan sighed, defeated, and stormed to find a plastic ruler that could be easily bent.

After determining that _yes, it was a large fucking egg,_ he carried on to get some vanilla beans ("Vanilla beans are an actual thing?" he exclaimed in shock when he found the small box of vanilla bean his mom kept) and and set the reduced coconut milk aside.

Ethan preheated the oven to 176˚C and lined eighteen cupcake cups in a tray, getting a marker and marking a heart one of them.

' _Fucking dork,'_ his mind retorted, but he did it anyway.

He took the measurements for the purpose flour and got out a medium-sized bowl. He dumped two cups of all-purpose flour into the bowl, coughing once more as powder from the flour flew in his already-white face. He added the baking powder and salt before realizing; "What do you mean I have to whisk it?"

Ethan stood back, looking around before finding a metal whisk. He sighed — _'this is going to take a while, isn't it.'_

* * *

An eternity later, he successfully mixed the flour mixture and set the bowl aside. It was then time to use an electric mixer — "I could've just used this?" he huffed in frustration — to mix the butter.

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to him that there were different settings, and Jane was _very_ hellbent on getting Susie back.

"Fuck!" he cursed when the high-speed mixer splashed chunks of butter all over his clothes and the table. He quickly lowered the speed and huffed, trying to remain positive by humming the song playing in the background. He proceeded to add the sugar and mixed it until it was light and fluffy.

"Well that wasn't so bad," he murmured, looking at the mess he made while his conscience screamed at him.

He went back to his mom's laptop — which he placed in the back of the kitchen for obvious safety reasons — and followed the next step.

" 'Add two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg'," he read aloud, before staring at the large eggs he placed in a bowl.

"This shouldn't be too hard," he said to himself, taking an egg and cracking it softly on the edge of the kitchen island.

It barely made a mark, and he huffed, tapping it lightly again. This time, there was barely a hole, and Ethan threw his head back in frustration before slamming it on the edge of the table.

The egg broke and egg yolk spilled onto his apron and dribbled down his pants. Ethan stared at his yolk-covered hand as his conscience continuously laughed at him.

He grabbed another damn egg and started again.

* * *

After an hour of avoiding potential disasters, he pulled the cupcakes out of the oven from their twenty-minute bake (admittedly, he baked it for twenty five, but if he put enough frosting on, no one would see the burnt edges) and placed it on the messy kitchen island.

"Decoration time," he said to himself, hand on his hips as he stared at the frosting bags. There was a small bowl of coconut flakes and, not resisting the temptation, nibbled on a few and practically melted.

"Consider the fucking coconut indeed," Ethan murmured.

' _That was a weird thing to say'_

"Shut up."

He danced around the kitchen island, sprinkling coconut flakes on the spirals of frosting he made, and reserved the one for Benny was carefully sprinkled.

Eventually, all seventeen cupcakes for his mom's book club were done, and the cupcake for Benny was carefully placed aside.

"There isn't possibly anymore screw-up's that can happen now," Ethan said confidently, but that was when the door opened, and he silently groaned.

* * *

Ethan carefully walked in the school, cupcake in hand. People gave him strange looks for dodging everyone, but he was not prepared to lose his cupcake to the forces of other people.

"Easy going, come on, just a little forward—"

"Hey, E!"

Ethan jumped as he turned a corner, and in almost slow motion, the cupcake flew in the air.

Wide, green eyes were all he saw, and they almost sparkled in the added light in a cute kind of way that made them seem—

' _Can you focus please?!'_ his conscience screamed, going into override. _'You went through hell for that cupcake and it's about to fall on the ground!'_

Luckily, Benny caught it with one hand, the cupcake falling flat onto his palm. He slowly rose it to Ethan's level, and he took a deep breath.

"Thanks, B," he said, suddenly nervous. Benny grinned a toothy smile.

"Anytime!" He winked, and Ethan rolled his eyes. "Anyway, funny you should bring a cupcake over, because—"

"Y-Yeah, I know," Ethan mumbled as, unbeknownst to him, that Benny was actually not listening. "They are actually for y-you, because I know you like cupcakes, and vanilla is your—"

"Anyway, this girl actually gave me a whole batch of vanilla coconut cupcakes!" Benny exclaimed happily, showing Ethan a tray of perfectly lined cupcakes, that mirrored the cupcakes in the article.

' _Are you actually kidding me,'_ Ethan thought wearily.

"Yeah, apparently her dad owns some small website called 'Cupid's Cupcakes'," Benny explained. "I just walked in and she gave me these cupcakes! And Ethan, oh my god, I already ate three and they are heaven in breadcrumbs and sugar. Do you want one?"

"No thanks," Ethan said sadly. Benny looked at the cupcake.

"Say, that looks a lot like the ones she gave me, except the frosting is a bit...smushed." Ethan blushed, reeling his hand back and putting the cupcake close to his chest.

"I, uh, made a cupcake," he said dumbly.

"For who?" Benny wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I see you scrawled a little heart on it — anyone I should know about?"

' _You,'_ Ethan thought bitterly.

"M-Me," he stuttered instead, and stuffed it in his mouth with a small smile. Benny frowned, slowly lowering the tray of cupcakes down.

"Um...okay then," he said slowly. "I'll...see you later, Ethan. Enjoy your cupcake, I guess."

As he walked away, Ethan faced the direct he left in, wiping the bread crumbs off his mouth.

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid,'_ his mind helpfully reminded him.

A gust of wind blew past him, and Rory appeared in a blur of blonde.

"I smelled vanilla coconut cupcakes from my locker!" Rory chirped, and before Ethan could open his mouth, he grabbed the remaining of the broken cupcake and sped off.

Ethan sighed, and walked to his locker — tomorrow's another day, he supposed.

* * *

 **a/n- well there you have it! the aim of this story, if you couldn't already tell, was to have a goofy rationality v.s morality going on with ethan, which is the point of view of the story. it's meant to be kind of poorly written because it's mostly him thinking, and kind of silly as well. i hope you feel the vibe :P**

 **anyway, until tomorrow, i guess! thanks for reading, and drop a review if you liked it if you like :)**

 **"維持し続ける!"  
** ***keep on keeping on**


	2. Poem

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a new chapter of 'frwifilwbw', aka the story with the worst acronym :P**

 **how are you guys doing since the last chapter? did it make you smile? laugh? cry? neither? meh? well, even if you hated it, you're gonna get more of it. i like the weird, goofy writing that went into this. i feel like that really reflects ethan's shy and goofy persona? i mean, the whole long sentences thing going on is a representation of his consciousness? anyway, no one wanted this to be about writing :P**

 **(wow, i love this new 2017 rebranding that i am doing: sarcastic, silly, lazy, happy, and caring :P)**

 **well in this chapter, we're going to go on a nostalgic-trip. this chapter was inspired by the end of 'hottie ho-tep', so there's your hint ;)**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- yay, i'm glad you loved it! i feel pretty bad for ethie as well, but those feelings are only going to grow because ethan is going to endure through some *takes a deep breath* tough shit. :P anyway, thanks for the review as always, pal :D**

 **ocedaturtle- i hope that means you enjoyed it! if not, then right back at ya :)**

 **mbav fan66- oh it's gonna be a long road to getting the guy, but i guess i guess you can keep up the hope for both ethan and i :) hey, at least you aren't writing the story! i was so hungry reading the recipe, i had to eat a lot of chips to get through it :P yeah, i'm trying to be culturally diverse — can you tell :P anyway, thanks for reviewing as always, fanfic buddy :D  
**

 **well, here we go! i hope you enjoy day 2 of our wonderful valentine's day story endeavour :)**

 **disclaimer: i...i still don't own mbav or its characters. why do you asking me that? oh, it's because you also need to know that the poem (you'll know which one) in the story is called 'red, red rose' by robert burns. it's v sweet/cheesy. okay, carry on :)**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 2: "He wrote me a poem in second grade describing how our friendship was like a growing flower, and now I want him to know that it's a blossomed rose (barf)."**

 **X~*~X**

Ethan slammed the door closed when he went back into his house on Wednesday night.

After a colossal fail with the cupcakes — which his brain had no hesitation in reminding him of — he had to find a different way to confess to Benny.

' _What are you going to do?'_ his brain asked. _'I mean, if you literally failed with one cupcake, I'm not sure how you can succeed with anything else.'_

Ethan rolled his eyes at his inner torment, throwing his shoes to the side and marching upstairs to his room. He unloaded his bag and while tossing it on his bed, he accidentally knocked over a small box on his bedside table.

' _Great job, klutz,'_ his conscience muttered, and Ethan climbed over his bed to see what fell on the other side.

A few rocks that were probably important, a pin from space-camp, and a piece of paper was on the ground. Curious, he picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it carefully.

 _ethan,_

 _its frendship day  
and i have alot to say  
_ _mostly about how i love being your frend everyday._

 _you mak me smile  
_ _and have a whole lotta stile  
_ _and wen we play video games, every momment's worth wile_

 _anyway i gotta shower  
_ _and i hate cauliflower (my mom helped me spell that!)  
_ _but no that our frendship is like a growing flower_

 _\- benny :D_

Ethan grinned to himself. Sure, the spelling could've been better, but he clearly remembered the day seven year-old Benny handed this to a six year-old Ethan. He dismissed it as some kind of "bro-love", but still found it very endearing.

' _Write a poem!'_ his fantastical side of his brain screamed.

' _You can't write,'_ is the first thing his rational conscience retorted. Ethan shrugged, looking at his homework and then at a piece of paper underneath a pencil.

He sat down and shoved the homework back onto the ground.

* * *

" _benny,"_

That was the only word he had so far, and it's been thirty minutes.

His 90% English average had seemingly abandoned him, leaving him completely clueless. He had his mom's old 80's love CD's playing on his radio, along with Benny's poem right beside him.

' _Maybe use some of his poem and twist it into your own?'_ his brain rationalized. _'Makes it seem really cute and nostalgic.'_

His eyes lit up at the thought, and he quickly scribbled the words out.

" _i know it's not friendship day  
_ _but regardless i have a lot to say  
_ _about how i love being your friend every day"_

Ethan sat back and grinned, almost accomplished.

' _You literally have one stanza,'_ his mind pointed out. Ethan's shoulders sagged, but he perked back up when he thought about something else.

"Lightsabers," he murmured.

His brain was screaming at him in all capital letters, but he really didn't care — if this poem was going to be from the heart, it had to be specialized just for him.

"What rhymes with lightsabers…" he hummed to himself, tapping his pencil against the end of his desk.

' _Belabour?'_ his brain suggested

Ethan shook his head. "Too...weird."

' _Neighbour?'_ it prompted. Ethan snapped his fingers.

"We met because he was my next door neighbour, and we basically met because I agreed to help him move some boxes in for his grandma!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed.

' _That's disgustingly cute,'_ his conscience muttered.

Ethan's pencil almost flew on the paper.

" _i remember when we became neighbours  
_ _your eyes lit up like green lightsabers  
_ _and then you were asking me to help with heavy labor"_

' _If that wasn't the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard'_ his brain said, almost dissatisfied. Ethan shook his head — it was the best thing he could think of, and it was also, as his brain mentioned, disgustingly cute.

"What else, what else…," he muttered to himself, the tapping against his desk intensifying.

' _He made a metaphor about growing flowers and that got him an A+ on that poetry assignment,'_ his reminded himself. _'Maybe you should remind him of that, but except use…'_

' _Don't say it,'_ his rational part of his brain hissed.

' _A rose!'_

Ethan's eyes lit up (like lightsabers); that was a good point.

' _Don't do it for God's sake,'_ his conscience rationalized.

"I'm doing it," Ethan hummed, smiling like an idiot. "Not yet, but I'm doing it."

 _now it's been years and there's something different  
_ _like our flower has reached a high distance  
_ _and if our love went away, i'd miss this._

' " _I'd miss this"?!'_ his brain exclaimed. _'You can't possibly be serious, can you?'_

Ethan hastily erased it, and wrote, " _because every second with you lessens my heart's resistance."_

' _Still disgusting,'_ his rational brain muttered.

' _But very cute!'_ his love-sick brain retorted. Ethan smiled as he wrote the next verse.

" _i know you're probably straight  
_ _and that is definitely okay  
_ _but i needed to tell you that i find you are more than 'great' "_

' " _I know you're probably straight"?'_ his conscience asked, almost disappointed. _'Are you trying to lessen the chance of this actually working out or what?'_

' _It's a funny part,'_ the other voice in his head protested. _'All poems need a stupid part.'_

Ethan leaned back in his chair, flicking the pencil around in his hand. The poem was four stanzas long, which was already one more than Benny's. Surely that had to be enough.

' _You forgot the rose,'_ his brain reminded him.

His rational side of his brain was rolling its eyes until they grew out of his head, but Ethan grinned at the thought, quickly scribbling down his final thoughts.

" _so i know you mentioned flower in that poem you composed  
_ _but i wanted to update you  
_ _that i'd like it to be a blossomed rose"_

' _That's one end-rhyme short of your original rhyming pattern'_ his brain pointed out.

"I don't care,' Ethan said, signing his name on the bottom, and hastily added 'xoxo'.

' _This isn't going to work,'_ his conscience reasoned out one more time.

"But it might," Ethan said to himself, "and that's really all I need."

* * *

"Benny!" Ethan said the next day, sliding across the hallway floors and sprinting towards his friend. "Benny, I got something to show you!"

Benny turned away from his locker and his eyes brightened up (like _fucking_ lightsabers) when he saw Ethan as well.

"Cool, but I gotta show you something first!"

Ethan was smiling like a kid who got their dream gift for Christmas, fumbling the poem behind his back.

"No, Benny, I think you should see thi—"

"It can wait, because guess what?" Benny exclaimed, digging in his locker and pulled out an ivory-coloured stationery inside a small wooden frame. Ethan's eyes widened.

"Remember that girl who gave me cupcakes yesterday?" Ethan's brain was taunting him already.

"Uh-huh," he said flatly, a bit of hope left because surely...surely she couldn't have—

"She wrote me this really pretty poem!" Benny exclaimed, showing it to him with a giddy smile. "I have no idea what it means, but it started with 'O my Love is like a red, red rose', so I actually think this girl likes me!"

"Let me see," Ethan grumbled, swiping the frame with his free hand, and read the poem aloud.

" _O my Love is like a red, red rose  
_ _That's newly sprung in June;  
_ _O my Love is like the melody  
_ _That's sweetly play'd in tune._

 _So fair art thou, my fair sir,  
_ _So deep in love am I;  
_ _And I will love thee still, my dear,  
_ _Till a' the seas gang dry._

 _Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,  
_ _And the rocks melt wi' the sun;  
_ _I will love thee still, my dear,  
_ _While the sands o'life shall run._

 _And fare thee weel, my only love!  
_ _And fare thee weel awhile!  
_ _And I will come again, my love,  
_ _Though it were ten thousand mile."_

His conscience was cackling at him right now. Admittedly, the poem brought him close to tears — not only because of how disappointed he was, but also because that was a damn good poem.

The bell rang — _'Didn't this happen before?'_ his brain reminded him much to his despair — and Benny perked up at the sound. He grabbed the frame and put it back in his locker before slamming it closed.

"That's the bell!" he chirped. He frowned, then asked, "What was it that you wanted to show me?"

Ethan sighed. "Nothing. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Let's eat out," Benny said with a grin that made almost all of Ethan's sadness disappear. "I'm gonna treat you because my love life is finally going somewhere!"

"Of course," Ethan said flatly.

"Seeya, E!" Benny cheered, practically skipping down the halls whilst hi-fiving some annoyed jock like _the fucking love-sick boy he was._

"Guess I don't need this poem I wrote about how your eyes shine like lightsabers," Ethan muttered, a sense of deja vu washing over him. He crumpled the paper in his hand and chucked it in the trash before walking to his class furiously.

* * *

 **a/n- well that was that! did you like it? i liked it :)**

 **anyway, i will see you tomorrow, i guess! drop a review if you liked it if you like :D**

 **"Halten Sie auf keepin auf"  
*keep on keeping on (in German, courtesy of my friend who suggested it)**


	3. Jealousy

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn with the third chapter of this valentine's day thriller!**

 **well looks like all of you feel really bad for ethan, huh? well, i can assure it is only going to down from here :') but it'll be pretty funny, so you should enjoy the ride to ethan's love-filled destination. *rubs hands mischievously***

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- best chapter yet? wowza, you must really like it so far, considering we're only on chapter 3 :P but i am glad you enjoyed ethan's hilarious antics — they should only go up from here! thanks for your review as always, pal ^-^**

 **ocedaturtle- more like a conversation between his morality/love-sick brain and his rationality, which is pretty funny i guess! i figured it'd be a funny addition to the story, so i'm glad it's paying off :) and this mystery girl will show herself eventually...she can't be that bad ;) thanks for the review!**

 **fangerdanger6- glad to hear from you again! and thank you — the writing is a lot of nostalgia, huh? reminds me of my old, cringey writing :P anyway, i hope you continue to enjoy the story! thanks for your review :)**

 **mbav fan66- i thought the poem was complete cringe/cute mixed in one, so i am glad you liked it! i was really stretching how bad that poem was, but enjoyed writing benny's more :P and that girl can't be that bad...i don't know why you have such a negative feeling about her *smiles innocently* anyway, thanks for the review as always, fanfic buddy!**

 **anyway, enough of that — have fun reading!**

 **disclaimer: still the same as yesterday. i don't own mbav. i don't own its characters. i don't own the earth. etc.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 3: "We fought once and to make a point, he flirted with another girl, which admittedly got me fired up."**

 **X~*~X**

The next day, Ethan walked into school with a plan that his conscience — he decided to call it 'the rational devil' on his shoulder, because no, it was not that helpful — absolutely despised.

' _You can't possibly be considering doing this, are you?'_ it said, but his 'fantasy-crazed angel' was cheering as if it was at a soccer game.

' _This is going to be the best,'_ it cheered.

 _'Aren't you supposed to be his morality, trying to teach him what's right and wrong?'_

 _'Well...this can't end that badly, right?'_

 _'Jesus Christ...'_

His eyes focused on his two victims, and he walked towards them, taking deep breaths whilst rehearsing his lines.

Benny's eyes lit up when he saw him. "Hey, E! How's it going?"

But Ethan promptly ignored him and leaned towards his locker to face the other person Benny was talking to.

"Did it hurt?" Ethan said with a smug smile.

"Nothing hurts because I'm a vampire..." Sarah responded slowly. Ethan winked.

"When you fell from heaven, I mean."

Everything was going crazy. His rationality was screaming at him so loudly, he didn't even know if he could hear Sarah's response, or if she was responding at all.

Benny, who was behind her, was wide-eyed as well. Ethan had brief eye contact with him and smiled, his dimple perking up again.

"P-Pardon?" Sarah finally stuttered. Ethan, despite his brain telling him to back out, nodded.

"Yup," he said smoothly.

Sarah rose her chin slightly, and just nodded.

"O-kay then," she said, slowly backing away, side-stepping past Benny. "I'll see you guys at lunch, I guess…"

She turned her back and walked away, and Ethan nodded his head towards Benny, getting his attention.

"So what did you think of that?" Ethan asked, trying not to sound as giddy as he felt. His rationality had went from freaking out to silently being disappointed; even his love-crazed brain was quiet.

Benny coughed and said, "Er...that was certainly something, E."

Ethan shrugged nonchalantly, leaning against the locker beside him. "I'm sure it was. I am learning how to be a little more...extravagant this month."

Benny chuckled. "Well you're definitely on your way. Plus, it is the season of love, so maybe it'll actually get somewhere."

Ethan grinned, trying not to seem exciting. "Thanks, B!"

"No problem," he said, closing his own locker and smiling, adding, "As long as you don't replace me, okay? I wouldn't want you running to some girl and leave me behind — whoever that may be."

' _He's jealous!'_ his fantastical side of his brain cheered. ' _He's either jealous or scared, which may be a good or bad thing!'_

' _Bad thing,'_ his brain immediately rationalized, and Ethan flashed a toothy grin.

"We'll see," he said with a wink, and walked away. The last thing he saw was Benny's eyes widen.

* * *

Sarah closed her locker after her first period class, and was greeted with a familiar face.

"Hey, you," Ethan said smoothly. Sarah bit back an annoyed groan.

"Hey, Ethan," she replied tonelessly. "How are you doing?"

"Good, but that's only because I saw you," Ethan said with a wink. His brain was a bit more quiet than it was before, but was still disappointed regardless.

"Okay, did you guys get Benny's cursed camera he stole from his grandma again?" Sarah said, facing him with her hands up defensively. " 'Cause this is the works of some evil twin going on."

"Speaking of twins, do you have a twin sister?"

"No!" Sarah exclaimed, cocking her head forward. Ethan winked.

"Then you must be the most beautiful girl in the world," he replied.

Sarah groaned, opening her locker and purposely slamming it closed, just to walk away dramatically. Ethan looked in the direction she left, and smiled — at some cost, it was worth it to see Benny get heated up.

Speaking of which, he watched Benny walk towards him. Ethan smiled.

"Hey, Benny!" he said deviously. "Did you see me with Sarah?"

Benny laughed. "Real smooth, E. Definitely looked like you were really going somewhere."

' _He's being sarcastic — that must mean he doesn't like it!'_ his brain cheered.

' _Or he's being sarcastic because can see through this whole operation'_ another voice pointed out.

"I was doing just as I wanted to," Ethan said with a smile, before giving Benny the hottest stare he could muster. "What did _you_ think?"

' _Did you go there,'_ his brain deadpanned, ' _did you seriously just...go there?"_

Benny tugged his shirt nervously. "I was actually going to tell you something about that."

Everything in Ethan went quiet.

"Oh?" he asked, trying not to freak out. "And what was that?"

"I was going to ask if I can borrow your twin pick up line."

Ethan frowned. "Why thank you very mu— wait, what?"

"Can I borrow that pick up line about the twins?" Benny repeated.

"Yeah, I heard what you said, but I want to know what you're talking about," Ethan said hastily, his heart suddenly racing. "Is there a girl you'd like to say that to...or someone else?"

' _You desperate little hoe,'_ his rationality groaned.

"Yeah, actually!" Benny chirped. "Remember that girl who gave me the poem and cupcakes?"

"Do I ever," Ethan muttered.

"Well, I was thinking of asking her out!" Benny said with that signature smile. "And I am a bit more nervous than I'd usually be, but seeing you act totally cool with Sarah, it might bring my zing back!"

"You're zing," Ethan deadpanned.

"My zing," Benny said with a dreamy smile. "Maybe that girl will finally be mine, you know? She seems really pretty, and I chatted with her a bit and she is actually really funny! Maybe she'll appreciate an ironic corny pick up line."

"Corny?" Ethan echoed. "I thought that was a great pick up line."

Benny's smile fell. "Wait...you were doing that unironically?"

Sassy air-horns supplied by his brain echoed in his head. Ethan sighed.

"Of course I am doing it ironically," Ethan muttered. "Are you telling me you aren't a little unnerved by the fact that I am being a total playboy with Sarah though?"

"Are you kidding?" Benny exclaimed, slapping the back of Ethan's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you! You're finally going after what you wanted for so long, which is pretty awesome! As your formal right-hand man, I totally support this relationship."

' _You're the damn thing I have been going for,'_ his brain muttered, and Ethan sighed.

"Thanks, Benny," he said tonelessly. "I appreciate it."

And with that, he turned the other direction and walked to class — maybe there was some way to save this operation before it went downhill once more.

* * *

Lunch time rolled around, and Ethan was walking into the cafeteria with Rory on his left side.

"Okay, so what do I say again?" he asked, setting his tray down on the table. Ethan sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Rory, this is the third time I told you," Ethan explained. "You are going to ask if this is a new shirt, and thus setting me up for the pun."

"Like in basketball?" Rory asked excitedly, clapping his hands in front of his chest.

"No, not like— you know what, sure," Ethan said with a sigh. "You're setting me up for the shot."

"Perfect!" Rory exclaimed. "I promise I will be the best that no one ever was!"

"That's Pokémon, Rory."

"Then...I'll be the best Troy Bolton out there!"

"Fair enough," Ethan muttered to himself, watching as both Benny and Sarah began walking towards them. Sarah looked a bit uncomfortable as she approached, but sat down anyway.

"Hey, Rory," Sarah said, before facing Ethan and added, "and...you" with fake enthusiasm.

"Hello, Sarah," Rory announced, script-like. "What a nice day, isn't it?"

' _You gotta be kidding me,'_ his brain moaned.

"Um, sure," Sarah said, a bit unnerved.

Rory then faced Ethan and, while pronouncing each syllable, asked, "Say, Ethan. That seems like a really nice shirt. Is it...um…"

"New!" Ethan mouthed.

"Poo?" Rory echoed, shaking his head. "No, that can't be right."

"New!" Ethan attempted again, moving his lips slowly. Rory nodded in understanding.

"Shoe," he said with a nod. "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense."

Ethan rolled his eyes, and looked nervously at Benny, who seemed just as confused as Sarah was — he had to take matters into his own hands.

"Yes, Rory," he gritted out through clenched teeth, "this _is_ a new shirt. Do you want to know what it's made out of?"

"Ooh, is it fleece?" Rory asked enthusiastically. It took all of Ethan's willpower to muster up the courage and wink for the third time at Sarah.

"It's made out of _boyfriend material!"_

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Sarah screamed, standing up.

Ethan pressed his back against his chair nervously. "Do you mean 'For fuck's sake let me kiss you, Ethan'?"

Sarah flashed her fangs, and Ethan yelped. "I don't know what kind of drugs you are on, but I swear to God, I am done with your stupid pick up lines!"

"But—"

"They're stupid and frankly, disrespectful!" Sarah screamed, picking up her tray and squeezing her juice box tightly, making the whole thing collapse in her grasp and splash over Ethan's lunch and shirt.

"Agh!" Ethan exclaimed, falling back in shock. A few people around him snickered as Sarah stormed out of the cafeteria, and in his blurry vision, he saw Benny and Rory hovering above him.

"Tough break, man," Benny said sympathetically. Ethan grumbled some incoherent curses, and Rory shrugged.

"Hey, I'm sure this boyfriend material should soak all of that up in a jiffy," he chirped. Ethan groaned.

"Just get me up for fuck's sake," Ethan mumbled, and the two helped him onto his feet.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath at the end of the day and walked to Sarah's locker. Sarah turned around and immediately turned back around to face her locker.

"What do you want," she huffed. Ethan dug his hands in his pocket.

"I just wanted to say sorry for all the pick up lines." Sarah's eyebrow rose.

"Is that so?" she asked, slowly turning around and crossing her arms. Ethan nodded sadly.

"I wasn't doing it for you, I was doing it because I was trying to make…"

' _Say it, you dork,'_ his brain scolded. He sighed.

"I was trying to make someone I like...jealous," he admitted. Sarah looked at him, confused for almost a split second, before she grinned widely.

"You?" She laughed. "Make someone jealous?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Ethan deadpanned.

Sarah shook her head, her laughter dying out. "Who was the person then? Do I know her?"

Ethan sighed. "Well unless you still consider Benny a girl, I guess you don't know her."

Sarah's eyes widened. "Wait, you like Benny?"

"Shh, shh!" Ethan hissed, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her closer. "Enough people already call me faggot — I don't need to fuel their teasing."

"Okay, sorry," Sarah chuckled. "I am not sure why I am surprised, actually. You two always had something I couldn't really describe as 'friendship'."

Ethan blushed against his own will. "You really think so?"

Sarah smiled. "I know so. And we'll prove it tomorrow at the library, when you turn those 'mad flirting skills' right back at him."

It was her time to wink, and before Ethan could respond, she turned on her heel and left, leaving a very confused Ethan in her trail.

* * *

 **a/n- well that was fun! i hoped you liked it as well :)**

 **drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see y'all tomorrow ;)**

 _ **继续保持  
*chinese ^-^**_


	4. Self-Help

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with today's chapter of my valentine's day fic!**

 **so last chapter, some secrets were spilled, and sarah has vowed to join ethan's party on the quest to find true love and happiness (side note: it's currently 12:23 AM as i write this author's note to prep for technically-today's-update and future tobn, may i just say that you are a trooper)! what can go wrong? absolutely everything :)**

 **butttt (lol) there will be some plot progression in this chapter involving a mysterious girl *dun dun DUN* i hope you like it and what not, but try not to look too deeply into it — this is supposed to be a supernatural-free, calm, sweet fic *smiles nervously***

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- thank you for thinking the chapter was awesome-worthy! i sure hope that you continue to enjoy the rest of the chapters from here ^-^**

 **mbav fan66- hopefully nothing screws up and sarah ends up being a good wingman. or winggirl. or wing-whatever — it's 2017, i don't care. :P and i am surprised the whole sarah/ethan thing didn't blow up! in earlier drafts, there was a lot more...food being thrown everything. i'll leave it at that :') but thank you for your kind review as always, fanfic buddy :D**

 **disclaimer: still doesn't own mbav or its characters, but is pretty sure i walked on the same street where the film was shot ? ? ? i don't know, ahhhhh it just looks familiar, okay? i don't think it is, but it has a similar vibe to it. needless to say, i can encounter the street at any point in my life and that is damn exciting so anyway that has nothing to do with the disclaimer ha ha continue**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 4: "He once bet me that he could make a girl fall in love with him by simply doing research; that nerd."**

 **X~*~X**

"Sarah, you are the worst wingman ever."

Ethan stared at the dating books that covered his bed — a noticeable one being "Dating for Dummies" — and Sarah shrugged with crossed arms, facing him.

"What are you on about?" Sarah asked. "You know that 'Dating for Dummies' book was actually pricey, so what I think you should be saying is 'you're welcome'."

"No, what I'm trying to say is that none of these things are going to help me get Benny to even acknowledge that I like him," Ethan groaned, sitting in between the scattered books. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You haven't even tried yet," Sarah said.

Ethan shook his head, covering his face in his hands. "This is ridiculous."

Sarah sighed, sitting down beside him. "Okay, so maybe you're looking at it the wrong way."

"Sure," Ethan muttered. Sarah shifted in her seat to face him.

"Think about it like...an experiment," Sarah prompted. "You have to do research, right? If you want to get the most accurate results, you need some kind of information backing up your...idea.'

Ethan perked his head up, and looked at Sarah. "That...sounds intriguing."

Sarah grinned. "Love is thirty-percent of some kind of science, if you really think about it. If you want this to work, you need to do a little reading."

"Sounds promising!" Ethan said happily. "Thanks, Sarah! Maybe you aren't as bad of a wingman as I thought you were."

"Told you I would surprise you," she chirped, standing up and grabbing her bag that was hanging over his chair. "Now let's practice. Say I'm Benny."

"Why did you have to grab a bag for that?"

"Benny always has a messenger bag, doesn't he?" Sarah asked, slinging over her shoulder. "Adds a little personality."

"Can't I just pretend I'm going on a date with you for a minute?"

"This isn't going to be one of your stupid pick-up lines, will it?"

"Of course not," Ethan said defensively. "I am certain that I learned my lesson from that experience."

"Okay, then we can just do that instead," Sarah said, sitting on Ethan's desk chair and spinning around to face him. "A good place to start is to ask him on a date."

"A date?" Ethan echoed.

"Of course, not an obvious one," Sarah explained. "I assumed that you guys have went to places together before, right? Just take him to a nice pizzeria or something."

"He did say he wanted to go that new pizzeria down the street," Ethan mused aloud. Sarah clapped her hands loudly.

"Perfect!" she cheered. "So you're bringing him to this new pizzeria. When and how do you want it to happen?"

"Saturday night, of course," Ethan said, "and I would just ask him if he'd like to hang out. If he says yes, I'll offer him the pizzeria, and—"

"Wrong!" Sarah exclaimed, nearly startling Ethan.

"Wrong?" Ethan asked desperately. "What did I do wrong?"

"Pass me 'Dating for Dummies'."

"I'm not a—"

"Just do it," Sarah said, and Ethan sighed, tossing her the yellow book. She flipped a few pages through before she found the right page.

" 'Offer a specific opportunity, as well as alternative days'," Sarah read aloud. "If you say, 'Would you like to go out sometime?' you leave yourself absolutely no way out if the person says _no,_ and if the answer is _yes,_ you still have to ask the person out'."

"Sounds fair enough," Ethan said.

"Tell him that you are going to the pizzeria and give it a reason," Sarah suggested. "Is there anything coming up before Saturday?"

"Um, he has a big test on Friday," he prompted, and Sarah grinned.

"Fantastic," she said. "Now you have a motive. Say that you are...rewarding him. It's a positive meetup, sounds casual, and is very easy to get his mind off the test in general."

"Alright then," Ethan said, leaning forward. "So I have Saturday night at the pizzeria for surviving his test. Sounds good with me. I'll text him right now—"

"Don't text him!" Sarah exclaimed. "Toss me the red book!"

"They're books about love — literally all of them are red books."

"Just— ugh, that one, Ethan," she grumbled, and Ethan chuckled, tossing her the book. She flipped to the right page and read aloud.

" 'Since calling takes chutzpah'—"

"What's 'chutzpah'?" Ethan asked, confused. Sarah shook her head.

" 'a text could be read as a lack of confidence and a desire to hide behind your phone'," she continued, and Ethan sighed.

"So should I ask him straight up to his face?" Ethan suggested. Sarah hummed, and shook her head.

"I don't think you should tell him face to face," Sarah said slowly. "I mean, that would seem like the best idea, but I feel like that would just make everything feel like that 'I'm taking you out for a proper date' kind of awkward."

"I guess you're right," Ethan said, before asking, "How about I just call him!"

"Now that's a good idea," Sarah said. "You should probably do that now, just to get it out of the way."

"Now?!" Ethan exclaimed. "Don't you think that's a bit too fast?"

"Nothing is too fast for Ethan Morgan," Sarah giggled. "Besides, you still have all the confidence while I'm here now — might as well use it up before you chicken out later."

"I guess I see your point," Ethan said, picking up his phone and dialling Benny.

He picked up on the first ring, and said audibly, " _You got Benny, how can I help ya?"_

"Hey, B. It's me, uh, Ethan," Ethan stammered, and Sarah nearly face palmed. He mouthed an apology, but she just waved her hands dismissively in front of her, motioning for him to move on.

" _Oh, hey, E! How's it going?"_ he asked, his cheery voice bright and vibrant as always.

"Good, yeah, everything's fine," Ethan said, tugging the hem of his t-shirt's neckline nervously. "Listen, I got a question for you."

"Don't make it too obvious!" Sarah whispered, and Ethan stuttered with, "I-I mean, I just wanted to chat a bit."

Sarah gave him a thumbs-up, and Benny laughed.

" _Sure thing, E!"_ he chirped. " _What do you want to talk about?"_

"Well remember that pizzeria that just opened a few blocks down near downtown?" Ethan asked, and Benny hummed an agreement. Ethan took a deep breath.

"I was wondering, after your big test on Friday, you know, that we could go there?" Ethan's voice went up and airy as he went on. "As a...reward, I mean. For finishing that stupid test for Mrs. Buckley's."

Sarah nodded, and Ethan anxiously awaited a response.

" _That sounds awesome!"_ Benny cheered, loud enough for Sarah to squeal softly. " _Saturday night sounds good then?"_

"Saturday night," Ethan confirmed. "Should I meet you there, or—"

Sarah slid her hand across her neck frantically, and Ethan's eyes widened as he nodded, somewhat understanding her motive.

"I mean, I can pick you up!" Ethan said, staring at Sarah for some kind of confirmation. She nodded, taking a deep breath and giving him another thumbs-up. He could almost hear Benny's grin on the other side of the line.

" _Sounds cool,"_ he agreed. " _I'll be out by seven thirty — you gonna try taking your dad's car for a spin?"_

Ethan's eyes widened, and he mouthed, "What do I say?"

Sarah nodded frantically, and Ethan said, "I can see if I can take it out for this special occasion."

Sarah smiled widely, nodding in approvement.

" _Well sounds good, Mr. Dreamy,"_ Benny teased. " _I guess I'll see you then, huh?"_

Ethan smiled. "It's a date!"

Sarah cocked her head forward in disbelief, and Ethan began to stammer, "I-I mean, not a date. Definitely not a date. Unless you want it to be a date, of course, but it's not a date."

Smelling fresh and appearing clean is something that will help you attract other people. A moment of silence, before Benny said, " _O-kay then...I'll see you Saturday."_

"See you Saturday," he said and quickly hung up. He looked at Sarah, who smiled.

"Could've gone worse," she said nonchalantly. Ethan frowned.

"This is when I realize that isn't Saturday tomorrow…?"

"...I guess you should start cramming then," Sarah said, flashing a nervous smile, before walking out of his room without letting him say a word.

* * *

Saturday night couldn't have come any faster, and eventually, Ethan had two hours before he had to go to Benny's.

' _What to do, what to do,'_ he thought hastily, staring at his mirror. His brain, which memorized all of the tips from the books Sarah bought him, helpfully supplied some advice.

' " _Smelling fresh and appearing clean is something that will help you attract other people",'_ his brain advised. ' _Take a shower, and then try on some of dad's cologne.'_

' _Do you remember the last time you tried that?'_ his rationality helpfully reminded him. Ethan shook his head, shuddering at the thought.

"Okay, so just shower, but no cologne," Ethan compromised. "Sounds good for me."

He took a thirty minute shower, and when he got back, stared at the amount of clothes in his closet. He bit his lip, trying to figure out which clothes he should wear.

' " _Dress to impress, but remain comfortable",'_ his brain reminded him. ' " _It's important that you feel confident and comfortable in your clothes".'_

He decided to wear a blue shirt underneath a jean jacket, along with some dark jeans. He put on a nice watch his aunt gave him that he never had the heart to wear, and brushed his hair twice.

"Looking good," he murmured to himself. "I think you're ready for this date."

' _Stop talking out loud, it's weird.'_

"Okay," Ethan hummed, and walked out the door.

* * *

"Man, the pizza is delicious," Benny moaned, stretching his hand as far away from him as he could to see how long the string of cheese was. "And the wings are really good as well."

"This might be my new favourite place to eat from now on," Ethan readily agreed, tugging the hem of his jacket. "Not to mention it's at a conveniently low price."

Benny laughed. "Definitely — I can't believe my wallet is allowing me to do this."

Ethan laughed along, his mind silently cheering him for using humour as a strategy tactic that Sarah taught him a while ago.

They've already been here for an hour, and it was going just as Ethan had wanted it — or so he hope. Benny was dressed for the occasion, sporting a green polo with thin stripes running across, which was underneath a black vest. It reminded Ethan of when he was doing the lights for the play, which made his heart swoon even more.

' _Try flirting with him, or at least showing him that you are confident where this is going,'_ his brain said, nearly quoting Sarah. ' _It's good to lean forward, like you're actually listening. "Use your whole body", it said.'_

"So how have you been doing?" Ethan asked, leaning forward and even taking it as far as to putting his elbow on the table, chin in his hand. "Anything exciting happening in your life right now?"

Of course, to his luck, this turned out to be the wrong question. Benny's eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

"Oh my god, it's actually going fantastic," Benny said dreamily. "Remember that girl I was talking about?"

Ethan practically deflated. He grabbed a wing and nervously picked at it.

"Um, yeah, why?" he asked as calmly as he could. Benny smiled widely.

"Well I finally got the courage to talk to her, and turns out it wasn't a complete flop!" Benny said happily, munching on some pizza. "Her name is Emily Monroé, and she's new to town!"

"Is she," Ethan asked flatly.

"Uh-huh!" It made Ethan mad, thinking how happy Benny was with someone else. "She comes from _Eros_...apparently it's some place in Rome? I dunno, she mentioned Latin, so I think it's in Rome...or Greece...not sure?"

"Interesting," Ethan said, looking away, desperately trying to salvage the date. "So, have you seen the new update for Hunker-2019? I heard the graphics were really good."

"Actually, I already know!" Benny beamed. "I played it at Emily's house after my big test. She said it 'was a reason to celebrate'. God, isn't she so helpful? Though between you and me, Ethan, I think she was secretly flirting with me! Can you believe she thought I didn't notice? I mean, who _wouldn't_ notice someone flirting with them — _especially_ on the first date, nonetheless!"

Ethan gritted his teeth and stuffed pizza in his mouth wordlessly.

* * *

As Jane answered the door on the next day, Sarah sped into the living room as fast as she could.

"Ethan?!" she screamed. "Ethan, I smelled fire when I was walking by, are you oka— what on earth are you doing?"

Ethan growled, standing in front of a fireplace that fueled off burnt pages. He was holding the 'Dating for Dummies' book in his left hand, and Sarah frowned.

"Is that the book I got you?" she asked incredulously. "And are you burning the other books I got you? They were helpful, weren't they?

Ethan wordlessly tossed the yellow book in the fire, and that was his answer.

* * *

 **a/n- well that was a flop, but wait until tomorrow's chapter where things go even worse ;)**

 **until then, thanks for reading! drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow ^-^**

 _ **continue de garder!**_


	5. Magic

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a new chapter of...this story that does not have a cool acronym :)**

 **five days and counting, which means it's a new week! of course, this is past tobn writing this author's note to prep because hey, weekends are busy, so hi future people? happy new week! how is your sunday? it's saturday as i write this, which is kinda trippy...**

 **anyway this is actually my favourite chapter so far! of course, as of the moment of me writing this series, i am actually only eleven chapters through, but i can say with a strong degree of confidence that this is one of my faves/one of the funniest, i think, so i hope you like it :)**

 **shoutouts toooooo...**

 **fangerdanger6- thank you! the world needs a lil' bit of comic relief, so i am glad to be yours for the time being :) and i am glad you found it funny — it is possible that this one may be even funnier! thanks for the review :D**

 **ocedaturtle- or it could just be a terrible, _terrible_ coincidence *smiles nervously* and it's okay, i can't successfully ship them either without her. can you imagine the tension i feel when i write another cockblock from emily? it's travesty :P anyway, thank you for the review!**

 **bennyweirlover17- thank you! just wait for this chapter — it's gonna be pretty awesome as well :D sarah the wingman is questionable, but she'll push through eventually :P thanks for the kind review as always :)**

 **mbav fan66- that's actually exactly what i was going for! that sitcom kind of comedy, you know? and you're definitely right: love is as complicated as it is and does not need a complicated instruction booklet :P anyway, thanks for the review, fanfic buddy! appreciated as always :)**

 **well that is all i have to say! hope you find this as stupidly funny as i do :P**

 **disclaimer: same as yesterday's. no ownership of anything mbav except for the oc's.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 5: "He was as reckless as magic as one could be, but the moment I truly knew was when he made that stupid love potion."**

 **X~*~X**

It was Sunday, and it Ethan was sitting on the grass, waiting for a slug to pee.

It sounded as weird as he thought, but it was true. He was literally waiting for this slug to pee so he could collect it in a bottle and bring it back home. Sure, he was called a loser, and this was just the cherry on the top.

' _This isn't going to work,'_ his brain grumbled, and Ethan just sighed.

"Of course it's not going to work, but what else am I going to do," he muttered quietly, watching the slug circle around the grass slowly for the third time.

' _Try and actually talk to him?'_ his brain sarcastically prompted, and Ethan just rolled his eyes.

"It'll go eventually," Ethan said as the slug started another lap. "It has to."

* * *

When Ethan returns home with multiple vials of slug urine — "Benny was right about the whole ten slugs thing," Ethan muttered, annoyed at how little he got — and a copy of Benny's spellbook that he borrowed for "an experiment", he sat down at his desk and arranged them on the surface.

"Okay, so we got how to make an animal fall in love with you," Ethan murmured as he flipped the pages, "and how to get your teacher to love your pare— ew, why would anyone want that? There is also the spell that Benny used — tough luck getting me to use that one again — and...aha!"

He placed a finger on the spell and read aloud, " 'Uirgae Amoris: for non-spellmasters'. Perfect-o."

Ethan read what ingredients he needed, and frowned.

"What do you mean I need more things?" Ethan asked, perplexed. "I swear that slug urine was the soul of all love potions."

' _Maybe that's why the last love potion failed?'_ his brain dully reminded him. Ethan frowned.

"True point," he mumbled. "I guess I need to go talk to the one and only spellmaster."

Benny frowned, spinning in his chair to face Ethan. "Tell me again what you need?"

Ethan shyly looked at his list and straightened his back.

* * *

"I need the the blood of a butterfly, the tears of a dolphin, pounded glass from an ancient mirror, gold, rosemary leaves, crushed rose petals, and white stone or marble."

"And why do you need this?"

"Uh...the experiment," Ethan hastily answered, and Benny nodded slowly.

"O-kay then," he said, tapping his pencil against his desk. "I guess I can't really judge you because I needed a lot of weird stuff too."

"Yeah," Ethan chuckled. "Do you think you have some of that?"

Benny hummed and replied, "I can confirm that Grandma has some dolphin tears left, and some butterfly blood from an ancient trade, but I'm sure she can spare a drop or two. We still have that ancient mirror shard from the play incident that I kept as a souvenir, so I guess you can break that, and Grandma has some crushed rose petals. However, we don't have gold, any rock that you need, or rosemary leaves, as my grandma used all of hers up for a recipe."

"Well it's certainly a start," Ethan mused. "I can probably get some marble from a hardware store…"

"That's the spirit," Benny said happily, standing up. "Now, I'm going to get these ingredients, but I gotta ask, is this experiment going to take long?"

Ethan frowned. "I don't think so. Why?"

Benny grinned widely. "Emily's having a house party and she invited me! She said I could bring a plus one, and there was no one else I thought of but you, as you have been so supportive of this relationship since the beginning."

Ethan deflated, trying not to make it visible. "Oh?"

"Yeah, it's going to be sick!" Benny cheered. "And maybe I can swoon her and sweep her off her feet, am I right?"

' _So can you,'_ his brain sing-songed. _'Maybe this is the right time!'_

Ethan smiled at the thought. "It is the right time, isn't it?"

Benny frowned, looking behind him, and then back at Ethan. "Uh, are you still talking to me, Ethan?"

Ethan jumped a bit and blushed.

"I-I meant to say that sounded like a great idea," Ethan stuttered, scratching the back of his neck. "What time should I be there?"

"The party's at six, and her house is just down the street — it's the one with the cupid statue on her front porch; or at least that's what she told me. Bring whatever you gotta, as long as it's gonna help me advance my love life."

Ethan grinned. "I'll do my best."

* * *

Ethan frantically walked through the grocery store, searching each aisle for rosemary. He frowned, staring at his phone's screen.

"What do you mean there are more than one kind of rosemary leaves?" Ethan grumbled. "What the hell are the kinds I need?"

"Um, do you need help, sir?"

Ethan turned around to see a rather old lady with silver hair staring at him. He smiled shyly, his cheeks flushing red.

"Actually, yes I do," Ethan asked. "Do you happen to have any rosemary leaves?"

"Rosemary?" the woman asked loudly. "Well we have tons of rosemary, dear!"

"Er, I just need the leaves," Ethan said, and the woman frowned.

"You want to leave?" she asked again. "Why, I didn't know I was being such a bother to you."

Ethan's eyes widened. "N-No, I just wanted some rosemary _leaves."_

The woman nodded in understanding, her smile returning. "Ah, rosemary leaves. That sounds a bit peculiar, but you can usually get those off actual rosemary plants."

' _That seems about right,'_ his brain sarcastically said, and Ethan smiled politely.

"Okay, sounds cool," he said.

"You want a pool?" the woman practically shouted. "Well, dear, we don't have many pools in here."

' _Deaf,'_ his brain helpfully supplied, focusing on the hearing aid on her right ear. _'This should be interesting.'_

"I just need to know what kind of rosemary I should get if I want something to be," He snuck a look at his piece of paper with all the ingredients, "last forever."

"Well, _Back to the Future_ is a wonderful movie!" the lady said with a smile. "I love that scientist — he is quite the hunk, isn't he?"

Ethan fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"No, no," he said, saying more loudly, " _Last forever."_

"Last forever?" the woman asked, before frowning. "Young man, I should mention that I have been in a committed relationship for a long time—"

"I just need rosemary that is supposed to last forever, okay?!" Ethan screamed, and caught stares from everyone around him. The woman frowned.

"Well, no need to be so loud," she grumbled.

Ethan bit his lip and took a deep breath. "Apologies, Mrs."

"Eulogies?" the woman practically yelled. "Do I look that old to you?!"

Ethan sighed. "No, Mrs, you don't look a day over— you know what, forget it."

* * *

After finding out that there were different varieties of rosemary and that the old lady's daughter was named Blueberry — "It never sounded ridiculous to me," she claimed — he left the store with blue-boy rosemary; apparently, the leaves were evergreen, which hopefully represented the eternity of the love he was about to cast.

' _It won't be true love, would it?'_ his brain pointed out. Ethan shrugged.

"It has to be a start, right?" he said confidently, before getting in his dad's car and driving to the hardware store.

About fifteen minutes later, he walked into the store with a fair degree of confidence. He was greeted with a somewhat forced smile from a young man at the front of the store.

"Hiya, welcome to 'Bob's Tools'!" he said with a fake smile. "My name is Sam — is there anything you're looking for today?"

A bit overwhelmed by his fake enthusiasm, Ethan nodded. "Actually, I was wondering if you guys sell any marble?"

"Seriously," the guy muttered, before faking a smile and nodding. "We happen to have many kinds of marble, sir. Is there any in particular that you want?"

"Um, one that is good for wand making?" Ethan prompted shyly, and Sam narrowed his eyes.

"Wand making," he echoed in disbelief. Ethan nodded.

"Yeah," Ethan said. "It's, uh, an experiment."

"Of course it is," he deadpanned. "Anyway, right this way."

He practically stomped his way through the store, and Ethan followed, a bit embarrassed by all the stares he was going to get.

In attempts of brightening up the situation, Ethan asked, "So the weather's nice, huh?"

"Do you want your marble shiny or smooth?"

Ethan frowned. "Um, both?"

"For God's sake," Sam grumbled, grabbing a ladder and climbing to get a sample on the fourth shelf. He showed it to Ethan who smiled.

"Yeah, that seems about right!" he said happily. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, whatever," Sam said lowly, and walked away. Ethan stared in the direction he left in, and sighed.

"Have a good day too," he said to himself, "or whatever."

* * *

He went home with the marble and the rosemary plant, along with a gold necklace his aunt gave him for his sixteenth birthday when she thought he was going through a "gangster phase."

He laid all of them down on the table, setting the square block of marble in the middle. He picked a few leaves off the rosemary plant. He sprinkled that on the surface of the marble, and then put a few drops of slug urine on its surface. He winced at the smell.

"Crap, this is going to be hell to clean later," Ethan muttered. He then placed the gold in the middle, looking at the book's diagram. He put a drop of the butterfly blood on the leaves of the rosemary, and then drops of dolphin tears around the edges. Finally, he placed the shard of glass on the left, and the rose petals on the right.

"Okay, here we go," Ethan mumbled. "Caligabunt oculi eorum amor fortior virga marmoris!"

He touched the marble and was sent into a trance-like vision, before snapping out of it to reveal a red and white wand in his hands. He grinned.

"Advancing love life indeed," he said mischievously, and smiled.

* * *

Ethan walked into the party, tugging nervously at his jacket which had the wand safely tucked in it. There were already a lot of people, and Ethan couldn't find Benny at all.

"Hey, welcome to the party!" a girl said happily. She had red hair with pink highlights, and a pale pink dress with a small heart and arrow in the top left corner. "I'm Emily — have we met before?"

Ethan blinked, and extended a hand towards her.

"Um, no we haven't," He shook her hand firmly. "I'm Ethan Morgan; a friend of Benny's. I'm, um, his plus one."

' _Nice introduction,'_ his rationality groaned. _'Strong and positive.'_

"Well, I'm glad you came!" Emily said sweetly — so sweetly, that it almost made Ethan sick. "Benny's probably by the snack bar if anything — he's really cute, isn't he?"

"Yeah, sure," Ethan said walking past her. "Thanks."

He made his way to the kitchen, where Benny was talking with some friends before he turned around and grinned.

"Hiya, E!" he chirped, walking towards him. "Glad you can make it!"

Ethan grinned. "Me too."

Benny frowned. "Okay, why are you grinning like that? It's actually kind of freaky...and uncomfortable. If you can stop, that'd be—"

' _Swish and flick,'_ his brain reminded him. Ethan smiled.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ethan exclaimed, pulling out the wand.

Benny laughed. "You're saying it wrong— it's levios-aaaa…"

A stream of magic hit Benny's forehead, and he stumbled backwards, his words trailing off. Ethan quickly jumped forwards and grabbed his shoulders, bringing him into some kind of hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly. "Feeling anything...different?"

Ethan pulled back and frowned when he saw Benny's eyes glaze pink. He grinned, stumbling off him and pointed behind him.

"I just saw this beautiful girl, E," he slurred, and Ethan turned around to see Emily's eyes glaze pink too. He groaned — _'Perfect'_

Then he frowned, and thought, _'Wait, why are Emily's eyes pink?'_

Emily walked towards Benny and caught sight of a guy wearing a sports jacket. His eyes glazed pink, and she gave him a big hug.

"You look real pretty in that jacket," she cooed. "Is it new?"

"Hey, hey, that's my girl!" Benny growled, pushing Emily off her. He brushed the hair out of her eyes. "I love you so much, baby."

Ethan cocked his head forward in shock, not believing his own eyes.

The jock pushed both of them off and stared at some freshman girl.

"Screw you two — I love her!" he said dreamily, staring at the girl. Her eyes glazed pink and she looked at some other girl.

"No, I love her!" the girl screamed.

Suddenly, everyone was staring at other people and falling in love with them, while Ethan shielded his eyes and hid behind a counter before anyone could fall in love with him, or vice versa.

"What did I do wrong?" he mumbled, pulling the spell out of his pocket.

"Any supernatural being can make this wand," Ethan read quickly, "and it makes the recipient fall in love with whoever they see, and in return, that person will continue the cycle— wait what?"

' _You created a love chain, you idiot!'_ his rationality screamed. _'Now everyone who looks at someone falls in love with them, and gives them the power to fall in love with someone else! Good job — and we thought Benny was bad at magic!'_

Ethan peered behind the cupboard and quickly snapped back before someone could look at him.

"So what to do, what to do," he mumbled.

' _Break it?'_ his brain prompted.

"Then I wouldn't be able to do it again," Ethan pouted.

' _I think that's the point, dumbass!'_

"Geez, alright, alright, I'll break it," Ethan said defensively. "I didn't know I had such a sassy conscience."

He stood up, eyes closed, and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, wand-y," Ethan said, and snapped the wand in half. He winced at the noise, and opened one eye.

Everyone was standing where they were, confused, and rubbing their heads. Ethan sighed.

"It's over," he murmured.

"What happened…?" Benny's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Ethan instinctively held out his hands as Benny stumbled into them. "I feel...kind of dizzy. And a bit...itchy."

Ethan's eyes widened at a rash forming on Benny's arm.

' _The rosemary,'_ his brain said, panicked. _'Benny's allergic to rosemary! It makes his arms itch, and makes him lightheaded, you have to do something!'_

"Crap, B, hold on," Ethan exclaimed, swinging Benny's arm over his shoulder.

"Where...where we goin'?" he slurred. "E'vrything's kind of fuzzy…"

"Is he alright?" Emily suddenly asked, rushing over to him. "Oh my god, his arms are beet red. Is he drunk?"

"Allergic reaction," he hissed. "Though he's alright. I'm just gonna bring him home, and—"

"No, don't bring him home!" Emily exclaimed. "I have a remedy that my grandpa taught me when someone doesn't have an Epi-Pen on them — just give me a minute."

"No, really, I got this," Ethan reassured, but Benny practically slumped against Emily's chest.

"He's losing consciousness," Emily said urgently. "I'm a trained first aid student — can I help you?"

"Mmh," Benny mumbled, and Ethan just watched helplessly as she brought him to the washroom and sighed — another failure indeed.

* * *

"Wow, I feel a lot better," Benny said as he walked Ethan home. "Whatever Emily did was wonderful. And she kind of smelled like this one bath-bomb from _Lush…_ 'Cupid', I think it's called? You think Erica would like that for her birthday?"

"Of course it was," Ethan grumbled.

"I wonder how I even got rosemary in my system," Benny mused aloud. Ethan's eyes widened.

"We don't need to think about that," Ethan said quickly, and Benny just nodded slowly.

"Alright then," he replied.

They walked in silence before Benny stared at the night sky dreamily.

"You know, I feel like I'm saw Emily in a whole new light at the party," Benny mused with a small smile. "Maybe I'll finally muster up the courage to thank her for all the nice things she said to me. You think we'd hit it off?"

Ethan sighed. "Of course."

' _There's a lot of things I'd like to hit right now,'_ he thought frustratingly. _'Here's to the next week.'_

* * *

 **a/n- and that was that! hope you enjoyed it and what not!**

 **will next week being good luck to ethan for his love life? probably not, but that is certainly debatable for tomorrow.**

 **anyway drop a review f you liked it if you like, and i'll see you tomorrow :)**

 _ **continuare ad andare avanti su! (italian :D)  
**_


	6. Sing

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn, ready to make you feel a million times better about your love life ;)**

 **happy new week! it is the sixth chapter of this wonderful story (or at least, i hope it is)! last chapter, we had some magical mayhem happening when ethan so stupidly makes a love wand and despite the antics he went for it, did not succeed. but hey, that's okay, because we got to get some backstory on who this emily girl is — ready to take down the very-much-mortal enemy :D**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- ethan and the old lady was my favourite part too. trivia — it never actually meant to be part of the chapter! i was thinking of having a sweet old lady, but then i though "huh, imagine a sweet, _deaf_ old lady" :P and i was a bit worried too — benny is a toughie though, so he should be fine :P anyway, thank you for the review! :D**

 **ocedaturtle- you're right — cupid isn't a greek god, but i can confirm you that it's part of roman mythology! that's just some background knowledge i happen to have *smiles nervously* anyway, you keep theorizing, i suppose, but i can definitely confirm that emily is not a descendant/demigod version of cupid ;) anyway, thank you for the review!**

 **mbav fan66- fair point, fanfic buddy. since when have love potions ever treated the gang right? answer — never :P but hey, maybe this plan will actually work...or it probably won't, as i need this story to last fourteen chapters. but we get some plot development after this chapter, i swear — it's not only about funny antics ;) thanks for your review as always!**

 **and with that, enjoy today's chapter ^-^**

 **disclaimer: still don't own mbav or its characters. if i did, i would be very (ir)responsible with it :P**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 6: "He claims he likes music because they make him feel something, but I know it's just because Muse is his muse."**

 **X~*~X**

After the disaster that was the weekend, Ethan was determined to figure out what he could do in order to get Benny to finally know how he felt.

Eventually, with the help of Sarah, he figured out a perfect way — he was going to sing at the open mic.

Admittedly, the idea was pretty stupid to him. However, Sarah knew how to play the piano, and was willing to teach him one of Benny's favourite songs — Muse's version of "Feeling Good". It was Benny's favourite cover of the song, and he always loved how it made him feel.

Ethan was hesitant at first, of course — it has been years since he's played the piano, and he was a bit rusty. Luckily, Sarah was determined to help him finish, and claimed it was "the perfect way to get someone to like you."

That's how he ended up in the music room during his whole lunch break, trying to remember what chord was which, all while trying to avoid Sarah's uprising rage.

"No, Ethan, it's this chord," Sarah groaned, pressing the same chord for the umpeenth time. Ethan flushed red.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I really don't think this is a good idea anymore."

"It's only been ten minutes — don't lose hope already."

Ethan sighed. "I know, but I think it's quite useless. I've already been in countless situations where Emily-the-perfect-one comes along and sweeps him off his feet. I just really want to impress him, but it isn't working at the moment."

"It will once you get this down," Sarah said, motioning for him to look at the keys again. "I know you play really well. If you just sit down and learn, you'll rock the open mic tonight."

"I don't even know if this open mic thing is a good idea at all," Ethan protested. "You remember what happened at the last open mic, don't you?"

"That's because Serena was a mythical monster," Sarah retorted. "Benny isn't a mythical monster for all I know, so I don't think you have anything to be worried about."

Ethan blew a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll learn the song. But it's only because this might be my last hope, and because I am not gonna sing."

"Then what's the point in learning the song?" Sarah whined. "You should sing. You're pretty decent at singing as far as I know."

"As far as you know," Ethan scoffed. "That's one of the reasons why I'm not going to do it. Plus, I wouldn't want to butcher the song for him completely."

"You're such a drama queen," Sarah giggled.

"Maybe," Ethan hummed. "Okay, I think I'm ready to try again. I just need to see if I can get these chords right, and make a non-scrambled melody."

"We're still going for the jazzy version, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yup," Ethan answered.

"Why are we doing this song anyway?" Sarah asked, looking at Ethan. He blushed.

"It's one of his favourite covers of the song," he admitted. "Said it made him feel something."

"Feel good?" Sarah joked.

"Shut up," Ethan said with a half-hearted laugh. "You're probably right though. Benny always said he liked music because it made him feel something. Now I want him to feel what...what I feel, I guess."

Sarah smiled. "I'm going to assume it is a good feeling, as it makes my undead heart soar."

Her smile fell, and she added, "Though I don't know how much I can teach you at the moment. The open mic is tonight, and I don't have a piano."

Ethan thought about it for a moment, then grinned.

"I have an idea."

* * *

Ethan rang the door, and when he opened it, he revealed the face of a smiling spellmaster.

"Hey, E!" he greeted happily. "What brings you back to my humble abode?"

"Remember when your grandma taught us the piano when we were kids?" Ethan asked, and Benny nodded, smiling at the thought.

"Yeah, I remember!" he answered. "I was always better than you, if you stop to think about it."

"I know, so— wait, no you weren't!" Ethan protested. "I was really good!"

"Really good at playing 'Ba Ba Black Sheep'?" Benny joked, crossing his arms. Ethan blushed, grasping the strap of his backpack.

"Can you just let me in?" Ethan whined. "I need to go on your piano for a few hours."

Benny stepped to the side, allowing him in. Ethan took off his shoes and made his way downstairs into his basement. Benny trailed behind him, watching him sit down at the piano and pull out several pieces of sheet music out of his backpack.

"What are you learning?" Benny asked curiously, peering over Ethan's shoulder.

' _No point in a surprise,'_ his conscience pointed out. Ethan sighed.

"Muse," he answered. Benny's eyes widened.

"Ooh, that's favourite!" he said excitedly. "Why are you learning it? And off sheet music too? You know I can just teach you, right?"

"You can?" Ethan asked, a bit surprised. "I mean, so can Sarah, but she isn't here at the moment. She was trying to teach me during lunch — I...plan on surprising someone at tonight's open mic at school."

"Sick!" Benny exclaimed, sliding onto the piano chair beside Ethan. "You have to let me teach you, E! This person is going to be a pretty lucky person, am I right?"

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I would hope so. By the way, you don't have to teach me. I don't even know if you remember how to—"

Benny smiled smugly and placed both hands on the keys. Without warning, he took one glance at the sheet music and played the whole chorus without looking again. Ethan looked at Benny and grinned sheepishly.

"Teach me your ways, piano-senpai," he joked half-heartedly. Benny chuckled.

"As long as you don't call me piano-senpai ever again," Benny replied, and began to teach Ethan the variety of chords in the song.

"Keep your hands more arched; yours are too flat," Benny noted bluntly, and Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Jesus, you're just like your grandma," Ethan muttered. "She told me that over and over again — she even made me hold a ball upside down for hours just to get it right."

"Did it work?"

"No, I have always been flat," Ethan laughed.

As Ethan went through a rough runthrough of the song, Benny watched him quietly.

"So why are you trying to impress this person?" Benny inquired. Ethan continued, not looking up.

"Well, I've been trying to get their attention for a while," he admitted, stumbling over a key, cursing, and beginning again. "I always lose their attention to someone else, and I just wanted to...make them feel the way I feel."

"You can't force love, E," Benny answered. Ethan sighed.

"I know," He continued the chorus almost flawlessly, and Benny gave him a thumbs up. "I kind of said that wrong, didn't I. Maybe it's more of me wanting to stop lying to them. It might affect...what we have, but they deserve to know...you know?"

"I do know," Benny teased. "And that sounds like a good thing to do. I should let you know, E...they would be the luckiest person alive to be able to call them yours."

Ethan blushed. "I really hope so, B. I really hope so."

* * *

Ethan fumbled with his tie on the first row of the theatre, and Benny chuckled.

"You are really nervous, aren't you," Benny teased.

"I didn't know they upgraded open mic to the theatre," Ethan said nervously. "That is a real step up from 'this is an event no one but goths care about'."

Benny laughed. "You shouldn't be nervous. You practiced a lot, you know? You're going to break a leg."

Ethan smiled quietly. "I hope you mean that figuratively."

"Of course I mean that figuratively," Benny said with a wink. "You're going to do just fine."

"Next up on tonight's open mic," a teen droned onstage, "a performance by...Emily Monroe."

Ethan and Benny exchanged glances, and the curtains opened to reveal Emily in a pale pink dress, sitting by a white piano. Behind her was the school orchestra, composed of a multitude of string instruments.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she said in a voice that even Ethan couldn't hate, "and this song is dedicated to Benny Weir — I've been trying to get your attention for a while because, like the song implies, you make me feel so damn _good."_

' _You got to be shitting me right now,'_ his brain grumbled.

Emily's fingers flew over across the whole set of keys on the piano, ending off on a high note, before the orchestra behind her began to play.

A variety of string instruments dominated the introduction, with Emily playing a strong melody on the piano. Suddenly, blaring trumpets and saxophones played on top of a symphony of flutes and clarinets. Emily's piano playing still overrode the rest of the instruments, and to top it all off, her voice sent shivers down Ethan's spine.

When the song finished, everyone was on their feet, and Ethan slowly rose, clapping even if he felt his heart explode into a million of pieces.

"Well that was certainly something, huh," Ethan muttered to Benny, who remained sitting whilst staring at Emily, who was bowing humbly.

"Benny?" Ethan whispered. "Are you okay?"

As if enticed by what he saw, he slowly rose and walked onto the stage as fast as he could. Ethan's eyes widened as Benny walked to Emily and pulled her into a kiss.

Emily was just as surprised as Ethan was, but only one of them was up there, _and it wasn't him_

* * *

 **a/n- ooooooh! bet you didn't see that comin', didn't you?**

 **anyway, drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i'll see you all tomorrow ;)**

 _ **hålla på att hålla på (swedish :D)**_


	7. Sign

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with the seventh chapter of this story!**

 **i can't believe we're halfway through it! a small update from the present-day tobn, i am on chapter 13 of this story and i am lowkey crying? this is the most fun i've ever had with a story in a long time...i am proud of this story too. i always feel like there is going to be a chapter i don't like, but it's not happening because i am actually re-doing things i don't like rather than being lazy it's kind of fun.**

 **anyway, back to past tobn, who is about to show you another one of her favourite chapters! it was fun to write this because i was really stretching the limits between a 'sign' and a 'coincidence' :P**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **ocedaturtle- that's actually really interesting, and i am oddly curious to see why you think that? but yeah, emily is a fun character to write because she is just a pure, innocent soul. she was in the story since its early planning, and i can't wait for you to see more of her ;) thanks for the review ^-^**

 **bennyweirlover17- that was my favourite scene to write, actually. i can just imagine benny sitting down and teaching ethan the piano while ethan stumbled a bit and benny just corrects him and — ahh, can you tell piano fics are my favourite? :P thanks for the review, pal :D**

 **wannabeteamv- thank you! i'll admit, i do work hard to get these stories pumping, but they are all worth it when people like you say that! so thank you again for making me smile — i am very grateful for people like you everyday :D**

 **fangerdanger6- definitely a poorly timed coincidence — what are the odds that someone like emily would just be that good at piano and think of the same song as ethan? well, i'm sure ethan will be able to redeem himself eventually :P anyway, thank you for the review — much appreciated, friend :D**

 **mbav fan66- ngl i would pay for an orchestrated performance of 'feeling good' by muse. that would be pretty dope :P and fanfic buddy, you haven't even seen half of the broken strings i'm about to...to pluck (idk either). it's just gonna get worse for poor ethie, but hang in there, he should be fine :P thanks for the review as always, fanfic buddy :)**

 **and with that, i leave you be! hope you enjoy the chapter as much as i did writing it :D**

 **disclaimer: i don't own mbav or its characters, but i will when pigs are able to fly onto the moon without a helmet :)**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 7: "He told me that once he saw it, he would know."**

 **X~*~X**

"It was a disaster, Sarah," Ethan groaned. "I swear, if I was a train, I would be off my tracks and spiralling down into the biggest explosion ever imagined."

" _It honestly couldn't have been that bad,"_ Sarah said with a sigh. " _It was just a poorly timed coincidence.'_

She paused and added _'Or...or it could be a sign."_

"A sign?" Ethan echoed, close to snapping. "This could be a sign that my situation is pretty much hopeless, and everything I'm doing is useless."

" _Or it could be a sign that you need to stop being so…so extravagant,"_ Sarah prompted. " _You've done so much to try and impress him that you might be going overboard. I think this is a sign that you should just tell him."_

"Easier said than done," Ethan muttered.

" _That's easier said than done."_

"That doesn't make sense," Ethan retorted with a roll of his eyes _._

" _Just tell him,"_ Sarah protested. " _Honestly, I don't know how blind you are that you can't see the millions of signs surrounding you right now."_

"What signs, Sarah?" Ethan huffed frustratingly.

Sarah actually _laughed._

" _For starters, school was cancelled today, and no one really has a good reason why."_

And with that, she hung up, leaving Ethan to think about that very thing.

* * *

Ethan walked through the park, watching the children play around in the thin layer of snow they received over the last couple of days.

As he sat down on a nearby bench, he watched as a teenage boy whispered something into another boy's ear, and when they pulled back, they both kissed.

It was a strange sight to see, but it just happened almost seamlessly. Ethan smiled a bit, almost vicariously living through their seemingly new relationship, when suddenly—

 _BAM!_

Ethan blinked, watching as a plastic ball that hit his head fell on the ground. As he instinctively rubbed his head, a small girl came up to him and blushed.

"Sorry, sir!" she said shyly.

"No problem…," Ethan said, trailing off when he noticed the pink hearts that circled the rubber ball.

' _Love hit you in the brain,'_ the small angel in his brain teased, and Ethan rolled his eyes.

' _That's just a coincidence,'_ the other voice rationalized, and Ethan decided to take that answer as the right one. There was no such thing as signs from the universe...right?

He stood up quickly, turning around to head to a cafe in attempts to relax, when he accidentally bumped into a girl.

"I'm so sorry," Ethan stuttered when he watched all her books fall. The girl pushed up her brown, rounded, thin-framed glasses and smiled.

"Not a problem!" she chirped. "Should've watched where I was going. Got a lot going on in my brain right now, so I knew I was bound to bump into someone eventually."

"I totally understand," Ethan chuckled, kneeling down to help her gather her books. Most of them were notebooks, but a few phrases caught his eyes.

" _Bethany"_ was scrawled on most of them, and his mind helpfully took out the 'y' to reveal a ship that Ethan figured would never sail.

' _Hilarious, universe,'_ his brain deadpanned.

On open notebooks' pages — of which sparks of explosions and magical wands were doodled on the page — were small scribbles of reminders.

" _Call Benjamin ASAP"_

" _Schedule that date"_

" _Tell him before it's too late"_

" _Buy milk"_

The fourth one was the one he chose to rationalize, much to his brain's dismay.

"Thanks for helping me," the girl bubbled. "I'm glad you picked them all up rather than some random stranger at the coffeehouse."

"Why so?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Ah, you know those cafés," the girl laughed. "They're always so busy. And nowadays, all of the world's couples decide to have their first dates there, so they'd be too busy falling in love to notice my distress."

Ethan nervously laughed along, and bid farewell to the strange girl. Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and sure enough, it was his mom texting him to buy milk.

* * *

At the grocery store — coincidentally, the same grocery store where he bought the rosemary — he loaded his cart with a few bags of milk before he heard it.

" _Sha la la la la la, my oh my! Looks like the boy's too shy, ain't gonna kiss the girl!"_

Ethan groaned at the familiar song. It was odd that _The Little Mermaid_ was playing in the grocery store, but maybe that would've explained the strange feeling he got when he was watching the same movie with Jane the previous night.

' _Strange feeling, or sign from the universe?'_ his brain teased, and Ethan shook his head, grabbing one more bag of milk before going on his way.

As he unloaded the items onto the cash register, an _Archie_ comic book with hearts all around it caught his eye. Groaning, he ignored the oh-so convenient sign and his eyes fell on a teenage magazine cover.

" _Ten signs that you should confess!"_

"Great joy," he muttered. He walked up to the cash register and was met with green eyes.

"Hey!" the man smiled. "How's your day?"

"Um, good, yeah," Ethan said quietly. "Yours?"

"Could be better," the boy replied, scanning Ethan's items. "I am trying to decide if I should propose to my boyfriend on Valentine's Day, and it's been bothering me all day."

' _Of course,'_ his brain muttered.

"I think that is a very sweet idea," Ethan said, plastering a smile on his face. "It sounds like you two really love each other, and he's bound to love it."

"Really?" the man asked as Ethan handed him the money. Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, of course," he said, smiling at the thought. "Go for it."

* * *

"I'm going to go for it," Ethan murmured determinedly, walking towards Benny's house. On his way, a guy handing out fortune cookies as a late Chinese New Year gift handed one to Ethan. He pocketed it, and as he went on, his phone rang.

It was Benny. Of course.

"Hey, B, funny you cal—"

" _ETHAN I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND."_

Everything around Ethan just seemed to slow down, and he felt his hand go limp.

"P-Pardon?" he stuttered.

" _Emily!"_ he practically screamed. " _She just asked me out! Can you believe it?!"_

"No," Ethan answered flatly, "I can't."

" _The best thing is that our date is tomorrow night at the pizzeria you took me to!"_ Benny said happily. " _Though, it isn't really a date."_

This seemed to intrigue Ethan. "Really? How so?"

" _Well, it's more like a double date,"_ Benny explained. " _She said that a friend of hers was looking for a guy, so she asked me if I could find someone. So…"_

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" Ethan asked, trying not to show any annoyance in his voice. Benny sighed.

" _Please come with me,"_ Benny pleaded. " _I need some right-hand man support here, you know? I...this is the first time I've ever been on a proper date with a girl who actually likes me!"_

Ethan smirked. "Not the playboy everyone thinks you are, huh?"

" _Shut up,"_ Benny laughed, though Ethan could practically hear him blush. " _So are you in?"_

Ethan sighed. "Of course I'll come with you. It's obvious that you need me right now."

" _Perfect!"_ Benny said gleefully. " _Should I meet you there? I'm thinking of picking Emily up, if you don't mind."_

"Yeah, no problem," Ethan said, faking enthusiasm. "I'll see you then. I'm very excited."

" _Same! Make sure you dress up nicely, huh?"_

"Okay, Mr. Stripes," Ethan teased. Benny faked an over-dramatic gasp, and hung up.

Ethan stared at his phone sadly, and sighed, pocketing it slowly. Feeling around the inside of his pocket, he opened up the fortune cookie from a few minutes ago.

He sat down on a nearby bench, and opened it hesitantly. He cracked it open, and as he munched on bits of the cookie, he read the fortune.

" _Take every chance you get."_

* * *

 **a/n- i hate to say that it gets worse from here, friendos :/ but hopefully you'll enjoy some big things happening in the next chapter — it'll be a bombshell if you notice, i guess ;)**

 **anyway, thank you for reading! drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow!**

 ** _malama i ka malama ana maluna o (hawaiian ._.)_**


	8. Date

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a brand new chapter of this wonderful story :D**

 **last chapter was pretty fluffy, huh? and a bit of a plot-twist (not really) with the revealing that emily has made the move before ethan! i mean, she seemed like she was going to (like did you _read_ that orchestra number?) so now ethan has to bounce right back. he'll probably be okay...*smiles nervously***

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- yeah, ethan was kind of the therapist/life-advice-giver in that chapter, even if he wasn't taking his own advice :P but yeah, go ethan for the friendship points! very glad that his love problems aren't interfering with his friendship, huh? ;) anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as you did the last chapter :D  
**

 **mbav fan66- good point — his seer powers aren't really helping him, huh? :P and fun fact: up until today, the name of the friend was 'sabrina' until you totally changed my mind because the name 'betty' gives a great prompt for a joke, so thanks! anyway, have a good...read? i dunno, thanks for the review!**

 **anyway, thank you for all the kind reviews! have fun reading today's chapter ^-^**

 **dscaimleir: if you can raed tihs, tehn you solhud kown taht i dno't own my baybsiettr's a vmaipre. i do own the polt and eilmy, aolng wtih any oethr oc's taht you mhgit see :D**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 8: "His first date created the story of how he was banned from the bowling arena."**

 **X~*~X**

Ethan tugged his collar nervously, watching the time on his watch tick away. He looked up at the empty street and sighed — yeah, he was early, but usually Benny was too.

He pulled out his phone and was about to open a game to mindlessly play to pass time, when he heard footsteps walking towards him. He looked up, and immediately faked a smile.

"Hello, _Emily,_ " he said through gritted teeth.

She looked very nice, which was something Ethan hated to admit. She wore a knee-length pink-collared dress with skin-toned leggings, with matching pale pink ballet shoes. She carried a white bag in her hand with a small pink heart as its seal.

"Ethan, so good to see you!" she said sweetly, wrapping him into a big hug. Surprised, Ethan hesitantly hugged her back.

"Good to see you too," he mumbled as they pulled back. Emily leaned on the window display of the restaurant, looking up at the night sky.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" she said dreamily. She faced Ethan and added, "Are you the guy Benny chose for Betty?"

"Um, yeah, I guess," Ethan replied, digging his hands into his jean pockets.

Emily laughed, and it sounded like bells ringing. "Typical Benny, huh? He is such a nice friend, isn't he? You are extremely lucky to have him."

Ethan fought off a blush. "Yeah, I am. He is really...something."

"He is," she agreed readily. "I'm super lucky I met him. I guess I should thank you as well — it must be tough seeing your best friend with someone other than...your best friend!"

Her cheery giggle is merely wind past his ears.

* * *

Benny came five minutes after he said he would, but made up for it by dressing up decently. Ethan could tell he really tried — the green tie was a bit of a show-off — but, like always, he looked nice.

However, his date did not.

"I'm so sorry that Betty couldn't make it," Emily said to a stone-faced Ethan. "I totally forgot that she was going to a funeral for her step-sister's rabbit."

"Yeah, man, that sucks," Benny agreed readily. "She sounds like a cute girl."

 _"She was pretty hot,"_ his brain thought dreamily.

Ethan then looked up at Benny and Emily's confused faces, and his eyes widened when he realized that _are you fucking serious, did I really say that out loud?_

His brain started going into override — Benny knew about Betty because he _was_ Betty. Would he make the connection? Would that be the end of Benny and Emily's relationship and possibly his life when Emily — or Benny— _kills him._

"P-Pardon?" Benny stammered. Emily remained quiet and Ethan tugged at his collar.

 _'Say something you idiot,'_ his brain screamed. _'You have been quiet for literally two minutes.'_

"Ethan?" Emily said, clearing her throat. Ethan blinked, and slid his menu across the table in a blur of panic.

"I-I meant the chicken wings," he stuttered. "Yeah, the chicken wings. Heard the spice was...r-really hot."

Benny and Emily exchanged looks, and Benny nodded slowly.

"O-kay," he said slowly. "Anyway, you're free to leave when you want to."

" _I need some right-hand man support here, you know?"_ is the only thing that echoed in his mind. Ethan shook his head with a small smile.

"I'll stay as long as you two are comfortable with me third-wheeling," he chuckled half-heartedly, and Emily grinned wider than Ethan thought was humanly possible.

"Not at all!" she chirped. "You more than welcome to stay with us!"

"Thanks," Ethan murmured, digging his nose in the menu once more.

After they placed their orders — Ethan was having two slices of pizza, while, of course, Benny bought spaghetti and wings for Emily to share with him — they sat in an awkward silence for a while.

Ethan's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket and he discreetly pulled it out to read the new text.

 _To: Ethan  
_ _From: Benny  
_ _08/02/17; 7:21 PM_

 _can you please start talking or something? what should i do? should i start talking?_

Ethan smiled softly; leave it to Benny to one-handedly text Ethan in order to save the date.

"So Emily," he said casually, "Benny you said you were from a town called...Eros? Is that somewhere in Rome?"

Emily giggled behind her drink. "Not exactly. More like...Greece. I have Roman and Greek roots; Eros is a word in Ancient Greek, but it has the same definition in Latin as well. Personally, I prefer my Roman roots."

"Oh, that's cool!" Benny blurted out. Emily looked at him smugly, and he blushed, adding, "Or, I mean, that's a nice name for a town."

"It was beautiful there," she mused aloud.

"Not as beautiful as you," Benny said with a wink, and Emily laughed, leaning in for a small kiss on the cheek. Ethan watched Benny's cheeks flush red, and he discreetly flashed him a thumbs up.

"You're quite the player, aren't you?" she whispered against Benny's ear. He blinked, stuttering through a response. Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but was luckily saved by the waiter giving them their meal.

As Ethan munched quietly on his pizza, he watched Emily and Benny play around with the spaghetti in attempts at recreating _The Lady and the Tramp_ together. He tried his best not to stare, but when the piece of spaghetti broke, he felt his heart squeeze at the two of them laughing.

"So what brought you to Whitechapel?" Ethan casually asked once they were quiet again. Emily shrugged, twirling spaghetti around her fork.

"I was bored," she said nonchalantly.

"Bored?" Ethan echoed curiously. "Of what, if I can ask?"

"Just bored," Emily repeated, but this time with a smug smile. "My mom loved where she was, but I didn't, so I just...I guess I just snuck out."

"Wait, your parents — or at least your mom — don't know you're in Whitechapel?" Ethan asked, and Benny seemed to be interested as well. Emily smiled eerily.

"In a way, she kind of does. Either way, she's bound to find me eventually — just thought I can have a bit of fun down here first," she said, before shaking her head, her red hair bobbing over her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she added, "Speaking of my hometown...I wanted to give you this."

She pulled something out of her handbag and dangled it in front of Benny, whose eyes widened.

"Who is that for?" he asked, strangely nervous. Emily grinned.

"You, silly!" she chirped. "It's a necklace from _Eros._ I'm supposed to give it to someone I really love, and I figured...I love you, so it'd be appropriate."

Benny was too awestruck to even notice the necklace, so Ethan took some things in: it was a gold necklace with a small arrow on it, the tip of the arrow being a heart.

Emily helped Benny put the necklace on and he stiffened at the touch, before relaxing into her grasp. Ethan shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

"It's beautiful," he gushed. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Emily said with a smile. She leaned forward and asked, "But enough about me — how did you two meet?"

Benny grinned. "We met when we were kids — probably five or six?"

"Yeah, we go far back," Ethan agreed. "I helped him move some boxes in for his grandma when they were just moving in."

"He helped me through a lot, actually," Benny added, which sparked both Emily and Ethan's attention. "My parents died a year before I moved here, and he made everything a lot more better. I wasn't always the cheery jokester that people thought I was but Ethan knew that — I was going through a rough time and Ethan...he was always there for me. "

Ethan blinked — that was something he never heard before.

"Well that's sweet!" Emily cooed, though there was something different about her voice.

' _Jealousy!'_ his brain deviously prompted. Ethan nodded, ignoring the voice.

"Yeah, he's never told me that before," Ethan muttered quietly, and Benny just smiled.

"I'm surprised you two aren't...aren't a thing!" she said loudly, and Benny and Ethan exchanged surprised looks. "I mean, you two must've known each other for so long, and I thought Benny was gay the first time I saw him because of how bad he was with ladies!"

"Hey, being bisexual is a totally different thing," Benny admitted, and this time, Emily and Ethan both exchanged glances.

' _Bisexual?!'_ his brain screamed. ' _How are these things just coming up now?'_

"Well, bisexual or not, you are still my lovey-dovey, aren't you?" Emily cooed, and nuzzled into Benny's shoulder. His smile grew back again, and he winked at Ethan.

Suddenly, everything was too tight for him. His brain was going into override, and he felt his vision become blurred with tears.

He pretended to check his watch, faking a yawn and rubbing the tears out of his eyes.

"Um, it's getting pretty late," Ethan said, his voice a bit raspy. "I should probably start, um, heading home. Thank you so much for dinner."

He pulled out a few bills from his pocket, but Benny grabbed his wrist. They met eyes, and Benny flashed his trademark smile.

"I got it, E," he said reassuringly. "Thanks so much for coming — it meant the world to me."

"Anytime," he whispered, and then he escaped the diner in a rush, letting the tears fall with every step he took away from the oh-so happy couple.

* * *

 **a/n- well that was pretty dramatic, huh? bet ya weren't expecting that, huh?**

 **hopefully all will be resolved tomorrow, huh? drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow with a brand new chapter :D**

 ** _kuendelea kushika juu ya (swahili :D)_**


	9. Heartbreak

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a new chapter of this wonderful valentine's day story!**

 **man, that was a rollercoaster of emotions last time, huh? yeah, don't think that was the last of the angst — this is where the sadness and no humour kind of disappear and turn into a mushy mess of emotions :P**

 **shoutout to...**

 **fangerdanger6- bethan will have to sail eventually or else i am gonna get sniped by all of you guys :') but it was very sad indeed. hopefully ethan doesn't take it too badly, huh? anyway, thank you for the review :)**

 **bennyweirlover17- aw, don't cry! that's ethan's job :P but hopefully this chapter will be somewhat redeeming for all the sadness...oh who am i kidding it's going to be just as heartbreaking, hence the title :P anyway, thank you for the review as always :D  
**

 **mbav fan66- i mean, emily is kind of a weird person if you think about it ;) but ya, plot stuff is happening — i can definitely tell you that :) i am glad you are liking it so much, fanfic buddy! hope this chapter does the same ^-^**

 **and with that, let us get on with the chapter, shall we?**

 **disclaimer: i don't own mbav or its characters. if i did, all the scripts would be a disaster :P  
**

 **ENJOY**

* * *

 **Day 9: "I was the shoulder he cried on when it happened."**

 **X~*~X**

Needless to say, Thursday morning was a complete disaster.

Ethan woke up with puffy eyes and realized that he was still in the same outfit from yesterday. His brain helpfully reminded him of the disastrous third-wheeling date he went on with Benny and Emily, and how _fucking happy they are._

' _There is literally nothing you can do about it,'_ his rationality said calmly. ' _It sucks, but there is really nothing you can do to change the fact that Benny and Emily are going to live happily ever after.'_

Ethan wiped his tears for the umpteenth time. ' _Not helping, rationality.'_

' _Just being...rational.'_

Ethan groaned, getting out of bed and looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes were a bit red from the excessive crying the night before, and his hair was frazzled all over the place. He was still wearing the blazer from the night before, but it was slightly lopsided. A few buttons were unbuttoned, and the dress shoes he bought for the occasion suddenly felt too tight.

' _You need to go to school,'_ his brain reminded him. Ethan sighed, shaking his head and went to his washroom. He splashed some water on his face in attempts of brightening up, but to his avail, nothing really worked.

' _Just get ready,'_ his brain compromised. He did as he told, throwing his date-outfit in the laundry — lucky he didn't just toss it in the bin altogether — and put on a casual, but monochrome-grey, outfit. He looked in the mirror and shook his head, slamming the door in the end.

* * *

"You look like shit," Erica said as soon as Ethan reached his locker. Ethan stared at her as if he was blowing her head off, but turned to face his textbooks instead.

"Since when did you care," he grumbled. Erica sighed, leaning against the locker.

"Okay, okay, so she was right — you are in the dumps about...um...all of this." She waved her hands in front of her, and Ethan got the message.

"Who told you to come here," Ethan muttered, pulling notebooks out of his bag and placing them in his lockers. "Better yet, why do you care?"

"The answer to both of your questions is Sarah," Erica explained, and Ethan groaned.

"You got to be kidding me," he said lowly.

"Hey, she's just trying to help," Erica pointed out. "The least you can do is try and accept her offer for help."

"Nothing can help me right now," Ethan mumbled. "I'm going through a rough brea— wait, why do you even care?"

Erica sighed. "Again, Sarah."

"That doesn't really answer many things, Erica."

"Okay, forget Sarah," Erica explained. "I...we've been friends for some time now, haven't we? And I don't like when people are all...mopey around me. It gets me frustrated because that leads to complaining, and God do I _hate_ when people complain."

"Real sentimental," Ethan deadpanned. Erica looked at him in disbelief.

"What, it's true!" she protested. "You don't honestly think I'm going to lie to you, do you?"

"Of course not," Ethan replied sarcastically. "Throughout this whole 'friendship', you definitely have never lied to me. Really, I believe you."

"Wow, you're really bitey when you are heartbroken," Erica said, slightly annoyed. Ethan rolled his eyes, opting to ignore her. Erica sighed.

"I just need you to brighten up a little," she compromised. "There are...plenty of spellmasters in the sea. Especially if one of those spellmasters is Benny, as he is bound to fall in the sea eventually."

"I guess you're righ— wait, how did you know about Benny?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she blatantly commented. "I swear, Benny is the last person to know that you have a big crush on him—"

"Shh!" Ethan hissed, pulling her closer to him and gave her a steely glare. "Do you want the whole school to know that I am gay for my best friend, or would you want to keep my reputation intact?"

"I don't see how being gay will ruin your reputation," Erica muttered. "You're being you, aren't you?"

"Did I strike a few chords?" Ethan asked sarcastically. "Sorry. You wouldn't understand because you aren't a bullied nerd."

"But I was, wasn't I?" Erica whispered back. "I am a bisexual Dusk fangirl, walking around the halls like a dork. The only difference between then and now is that I don't look like a complete mess."

"You're...you're bisexual?"

"What, do you think I only eat boys because they're cute?" Erica muttered, annoyed. "Girls are hot too. I have a strong belief that everyone is a little bi."

Ethan frowned. "I guess you're right. I take it back."

"What I am trying to say is nothing will change if you come out — especially to Benny," Erica explained. "Seriously, who cares what other homophobic-teenagers think? They have never bothered you when you geeked out about video games, so I don't see why they would bother you when you're flashing out a pride flag."

"I guess you're right," Ethan said again. "Thanks, Erica."

"Anytime, dork," she replied. "Just...try not to act too sad, huh? I know you're in a tough situation, but it'll eventually clear up. Don't let it bother you too much — everything will be right-side up for Ethan Morgan soon enough."

"You care," Ethan said after a moment of silence, astonished.

Erica's eyes widened, and she frantically shook her head. "Um, no I don't!"

"Uh, yes you do!" Ethan teased. "Erica Jones, popular nerd-slash-vampire, cares about lowly dork, Ethan Morgan!"

"Shut up, no I don't!" she hissed. "Sarah, remember?"

"Well I guess I'll be going, _bestie,_ " Ethan said with a sly wink. "Thanks for the talk. I really appreciate it."

Erica sighed. "Whenever Sarah asks, dork. Whenever _Sarah_ asks."

"Sure," Ethan said with a roll of his eyes, and he watched her walk away.

* * *

It was nearing lunch, and Ethan realized that, for the first time in a long time, he doesn't have anywhere to sit.

Sarah, Rory, and Erica were off doing some vampire-chore for the Council, and Benny was no doubt with Emily.

He was alone.

' _Make some friends?'_ his morality immediately suggested.

' _He can't do that,'_ his rationality retorted. ' _No offense, but even he knows that.'_

Ethan sighed; it's right.

"Hey, Ethan!"

Ethan turned around at the sound of his name, and saw Benny was waving to him at their regular table. He frowned, trying to think of what to do.

' _Talk to him,'_ his love-sick brain told him. ' _You can still make this happen.'_

' _He totally wrecked you last night,'_ his rationality pointed out. ' _Do you really want a scoop full of pudding and awkward conversations?'_

Realizing that he has been staring for almost five seconds, he snapped out of his semi-conscious trance and walked towards Benny, shutting his morality and his rationality off for a while.

"Hey, B," he said, trying not to sound too sad. "How was the rest of your date?"

"Practically magical," Benny said dreamily. "For some reason...I just can't get her out of my head. It's like this little voice in my head telling me that 'yup, that is definitely the girl you're going to marry'. You know what I mean?"

' _Great start,'_ his rationality managed to say.

"Not really, no," Ethan admitted, stirring his pudding absentmindedly — he didn't even _like_ pudding. "I guess I have been...going through a rough patch with love lately."

Benny frowned. "Really?"

' _Surprised you couldn't tell,'_ his brain said sarcastically. Ethan sighed.

"Er, yeah," Ethan said, suddenly nervous. "Literally nothing to worry about though."

"No, E, your feelings are completely valid," Benny said calmly, which made Ethan boil to melting point.

"I feel like they aren't," he said, verging on frustration. "I've done literally everything to get this...this person to at least acknowledge that there is something more than just friendship between us. I've done everything. I feel like it's just completely useless, and hopeless, and I should just give up, and—"

Ethan couldn't take it anymore, and he broke down.

' _Nice going,'_ his brain practically screamed. ' _Not only are you heartbroken, but you also happen to be a heartbroken mess.'_

Benny blinked, and tried to assess the situation.

Here was his best friend,  
who was _crying._

Benny awkwardly pulled Ethan closer and let him cry in his shoulder. He rubbed his back slowly, and sighed.

"Um, there, there," he said quietly, rubbing circles in Ethan's back. "You...you really don't need to cry."

Ethan sniffled in his shoulder, and Benny smiled softly.

"I'm sorry," Ethan mumbled through Benny's shirt, and Benny shook his head.

"There's no reason for you to be sorry," Benny said in Ethan's hair, which made Ethan smile. "Whoever this person may be, they'd be an idiot not to notice all the good things you do."

Ethan pulled back and smiled through teary eyes. "They're not an idiot...or at least it's debatable if they are or not."

Benny laughed. "Well no bother. Idiot or not, there are plenty of other people much deserving of your love if this person doesn't want it."

Ethan sighed. "I want him to want it, B. I really want him too."

Both Benny and Ethan were unfazed at the sudden realization. Benny sighed.

"In the end, you can't control who he loves," he said. "If you have to move on, move on. But if you really feel like you two are soulmates...you should just tell him so."

Ethan blinked.

"Thank you, Benny," he ended up saying. "Again, sorry for crying. It was a bit pathetic, actually."

"It was definitely not pathetic," Benny chuckled, giving him a pat on the back. Ethan resumed eating, and Benny frowned, facing him.

"By the way," he added, "congratulations."

"Hmm?" Ethan asked lowly, a bit distracted.

"I assume you just sorta...came out, didn't you?"

Ethan nearly choked on his pudding. "W-What?"

"You said 'you want _him_ to'," he said, indirectly quoting him. "I assume your crush is a guy, no? I mean, you know I don't really care, I'm just a bit...surprised."

' _Idiot!'_ his brain screamed. Ethan shook his head.

"I guess I did," Ethan said, a small smile plastering his face. "Yay me."

"So bi, gay, demi, ace, what is it?"

Ethan shrugged, mindlessly stirring his pudding. "Don't like labels."

"Of course," Benny said with a goofy smile. "You never did like to choose anyway."

He paused, and added, "I'm really glad we had this chat. With all the crazy things that has been going on, I just feel like there's not enough...us time, you know?"

Ethan blinked. "Yeah, I know. I…I liked this too."

Benny raised his water bottle with a charming grin. "To us."

Ethan laughed nervously, trying to ignore the sudden wave of sadness.

"To...to us."

They clinked glasses, and Benny grinned. Ethan nervously drank his bottle of water when suddenly it hit him.

He could tell him.

He could tell him _right now._

"Benny?" Ethan asked, his voice slightly airy. "About what you said, with the whole 'just tell him' thing."

"Yeah?" Benny asked, raising his bottle to take a sip. Ethan took a deep breath.

"Well, I like y—"

"Benny-bear, hello!" Emily's cheery voice came out of nowhere, and Ethan's eyes widened.

"Yodelling," he immediately said. "I...I really love yodelling."

Benny frowned, slightly confused. "That's...that's great, Ethan."

He then faced Emily and she leaned forward to let him kiss his cheek. The two merely seemed like blurs behind Ethan's tears.

"Hey, cutiepie," he giggled, a new glint in his eyes that Ethan didn't recognize. "Still gorgeous, aren't you?"

"Only 'cause you make me so," Emily said back, and then faced Ethan. "Hey, Ethie! Glad to see you kept my sweetie-pie company while I was out helping the soup kitchen down the street!"

' _Of-fucking-course,'_ his brain grumbled. Benny grinned.

"You're so good, you know?" he cooed, tapping her nose with an index finger. She giggled, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

Something didn't seem real about her smile.

"Anyway, I'm gonna steal him away for a while, if you don't mind!" Emily said cheerily, pulling Benny's arm and dragging him off his chair. Seemingly transfixed by her, he flashed Ethan a thumbs up before he was whisked away with her.

Ethan looked at them determinedly — if he couldn't get through with Benny, he would have to find a reason to absolutely _hate_ Emily.

' _That's not really a good plan, is it?'_ his brain rationalized. Ethan sighed — it could only go up from here.

* * *

 **a/n- well that was quite the chapter, huh? what will ethan do now? ? ? stay tuned to find out :)**

 **so drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow with a chapter that might just blow your mind *smiles mischievously***

 **نگه دارید در نگه داشتن در (persian)**


	10. Homewrecker

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a brand new chapter**

 **update from present-day tobn: as of this chapter, i am done the whole story, and i am _so_ excited to show you what i've been up to with this! probably one of the best projects i've done in a long while to be honest, which is funny because there was zero effort in the plot building of this story :P to be fair, i've dropped almost everything i had in the way for this story, so i guess it's normal for me to feel super proud of it :P**

 **but enough of that self-indulging — what a chapter this will be, huh? now i promised you all that this chapter might blow people's minds, so warning: if you liked the chapters before where it was just pure humour and love, TURN BACK :P angst will happen, but i promise you'll absolutely love it :)**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **ocedaturtle- hmm, that's a very interesting thought. maybe google some more and you'll find out! or you can just read this chapter and wait for an explanation tomorrow, which is also fine :P but i love how immersed you are in the story — those are the prime readers, you know? thank you for the review ^-^**

 **bennyweirlover17- yeah, the erica/ethan talk was something i really enjoyed writing, even if she isn't a main character in the story. i just feel like they'd really click because ethan doesn't really rub off on erica as much as benny and rory do :P i am super happy that you liked the chapter — just wait for more cock-blocking on emily's part soon ;) thank you for the review!**

 **mbav fan66- she probably does know that ethan likes benny! maybe the defiance and the jealousy from more are going to come back ;)) not gonna lie, i was waiting for you to review to post it, so i was gonna give you loads of time :P anyway, glad that you stuck around as always, fanfic buddy, and enjoy the chapter!**

 **so here you go! i'm gonna call this one the climax ;)**

 **disclaimer: still don't own mbav or its characters. if i did, imagine the chaos that would be on set :P**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 10: "He said that there is no such thing as a homewrecker if the love you share is true."**

 **X~*~X**

His eyes were on her the following day.

Since Benny was feeling a bit "sick" today (Ethan knew it was because he was lining up to get the new _Triplex-69_ game, but decided not to judge), Ethan figured it would be the perfect time to strike back.

' _This is wrong,'_ his morality decided. ' _This is totally wrong.'_

' _But this is technically how you are going to get Benny's attention,'_ his brain rationalized. ' _There is literally nothing else you could do. Sure, it'll go wrong, but it can't be any worse.'_

Ethan smiled at the thought of his rationality being kind to him for once.

' _This is wrong!'_

' _You're his morality — you think fifty percent of everything he does is wrong. Besides, you were the love-sick part of his brain at some point — when did that stop?'_

' _When I realized how wrong this was!'_

Ethan silently begged them to stay quiet as he slowly approached Emily — there was always a flaw in every kind person's demeanour, and Ethan was determined to find out what it is.

"Hey, Emily," he said as casually as he could. Emily turned to face him, and it was as if a ray of sunshine and rainbows literally _exploded_ from her eyes.

"Good morning, Ethie!" she chirped, wrapping him in a big hug. She pulled back and added, "You don't mind if I call you Ethie, do you? I just figured that it was such a cute name, and I figured friends need cute names!"

' _A fucking angel,'_ he thought bitterly.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, avoiding eye contact. "Say, Emily, since we are best friends and all, how about you and I just...spend the day with each other? School's about to end anyway, and I figured we could get some coffee?"

"Sure thing!" she said with a big grin. "That sounds perfect. Of course, you do know that I am a committed woman!"

Ethan's cheeks flushed red at her giggle. "Um, of course, I mean, t-that's not what I meant—"

She laughed again, and said, "I'm just kidding with you! I'll just pack up my stuff and meet you at your locker, okay?"

"Sure thing," he said with a small smile, before turning the other direction and walking away.

' _This is a mistake,'_ his morality whispered.

' _Yeah, I'm starting to take morality's side here,'_ his rationality said. ' _Isn't this the definition of a homewrecker? Totally barging in on someone's love life for one of the members of their "party", but passive-aggressively?'_

Ethan sighed — what happened to the love-sick part of his brain that would totally defend him here?

Shaking his head, he went to his locker and grabbed his bag. When he closed it, surely enough, Emily's bright smile was greeting him. He sighed — this was going to be a long day.

* * *

"So how are things between you and Benny?" he asked as casually as he could, sipping his caramel macchiato. Emily blushed.

"Things have been going fantastic!" she gushed. "He is really such a nice guy. I am _so_ lucky that I met him."

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked discreetly, making it seem like a joke. "You know, you can tell me anything — I won't judge you."

Emily frowned, thinking about it for a while before replying, "You know, there is one thing that I find a bit iffy about him."

Ethan leaned forward, intrigued. "Go on?"

Her smile grew. "The only problem about Benny is that he makes my heart race you know? Like, how can someone just be that frickin' cute?"

Ethan's smile deflated.

"That's Benny for you," he deadpanned, and proceeded to drink another sip of his coffee. "Anyway, what are your opinions on movies? Do you go for the story or the making of it?"

' _Here you go, this is how you get it,'_ he thought excitedly to himself.

' _This is the most stupidest thing in the world,'_ his rationality muttered. ' _She's going to fin it weird you're skipping from one topic to another.'_

"A mixture of both, actually," she said, and Ethan's eyes widened. "A movie's story is basically the whole reason why you are intrigued in the beginning, and it keeps you entertained. However, it has to look nice too — the cinematography, the filming, and the soundtrack have to help tell the story as well. I guess, in the end, it does lead back to the story."

' _Are you actually kidding me,'_ his brain groaned. ' _This is the female version of Benny, isn't she?'_

' _But she's also the female version of you, if you think of it. That's exactly what_ _ **you'd**_ _say.'_

Ethan blinked — where did _that_ idea come from?

"So do you do anything in your spare time?" he asked, desperately trying to get something against her. Emily shrugged.

"Not much," she answered. "Mostly volunteer work for the homeless and at the local humane society. I also have a job at a video game store, but most of my proceeds go to charity because I pretty much have everything I could ever want, and I would want people to experience that as well, you know?"

Ethan bit back a frustrated scream.

' _This girl must be an angel or something,'_ his brain said, just as frustrated as he was. ' _There is no way in hell that someone could be that nice.'_

"You know, I do have a question for you," she continued on, snapping Ethan back into reality. "If I could ask, is there anything that Benny finds...special?"

Ethan frowned, and his brain was already racing with possible reasons to hate her.

' _She's definitely a stalker!'_

' _She's trying to kill anyone close to Benny.'_

' _She is trying to make Benny fall in love with her with some crazy dark magic that she has!'_

Ethan shook his head. "Nothing really comes to mind, actually. I mean, other than this really nice forest that we used to go to as kids."

' _You fucking idiot,'_ his brain muttered when he realized his mistake.

Emily's eyes brightened up like Christmas lights. "That actually sounds perfect! I was thinking of doing something romantic for him at midnight, because he mentioned that was his favourite time of the day. Might do something that will really... _seal the deal."_

Ethan nearly spit out his drink.

' _Seal the deal?!'_ his brain screamed. ' _Seal the deal?! What deal has to be sealed?! Is she going to propose?!'_

' _Okay, think about this rationally for a minute—'_

' _That's easy for you to say!'_ his morality yelled. ' _You're his rationality! I am his morality, and I damn knew that this was wrong!'_

Ethan gritted his teeth in hopes that his brain would _shut the fuck up._

"That sounds…," He desperately searched for words to say, and ended up saying, "really romantic. I hope things...um...work out for you."

"Oh, I know it will!" she said with a grin. Ethan sighed, ready to stand up and make a feeble excuse to go to the washroom when—

"Crap!" Ethan cursed, watching as he _spilled his drink on Emily._

' _Are you fucking serious,'_ his brain deadpanned.

Everything was silent for a minute, and Emily's wide eyes met his.

' _This could be it,'_ his morality cheered. ' _This could be the thing that blows her nice cover right out the door! She looks like she's about to murder you!'_

' _Which might not be the best thing?'_ his rationality pointed out.

"I-I am so sorry," he stuttered as Emily slowly stood up.

"You…," Emily started.

' _This is it!'_ his brain said mischievously. ' _This is it!'_

"You…"

Emily grinned. "You don't have to apologize!"

' _Of course,'_ his brain muttered.

"I-I don't?" Ethan asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Of course not!" she chirped. "That was just one silly mistake! Really, you don't need to apologize! One clean wipe in the washroom should do that trick."

She stood up and flashed Ethan one more smile before heading to the washroom. Ethan groaned, nearly slapping himself in the face.

' _Nice going, dork,'_ his brain scolded.

Ethan waited for her, mindlessly scrolling through his endless amount of games on his phone, before realizing that she was in the washroom for almost twenty minutes.

He hesitantly stood up, heading to the single washroom door, which was slightly cracked open.

"Hey, Emily," he said quietly, moving his hand forward to open the door wider. "You okay—"

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

Emily was standing in front of the mirror, and her back faced him. The most prominent feature was no longer her red hair, but _the tiny wings on her back._

His brain remained quiet.

Her reflection in the mirror was barely there, and replacing it was a dark shadow.

"You look terrible, mother," Emily suddenly spoke, and Ethan remained as quiet as he could.

" **I am tired of your games,** _ **Eros."**_

Emily laughed. "Mother, please — it's _Cupid."_

Ethan's eyes widened in fear. If he was a character in a drama show, the camera would zoom into his face at hyper speed.

The dark shadow stared at Emily intensely.

" **This is your final warning,"** it boomed. " **Destroy the physical form that you have made for yourself and leave the mortal boy you have bewitched alone. Otherwise, I shall come down and take matters into my own hands."**

Emily laughed, the sweetness in her voice gone.

"You mean the spellmaster?" she asked smugly. "He's fun to play with. I'm gonna have loads of fun with him, counting that his pathetic friend will remain pathetic."

Ethan clenched his fist angrily.

" **You've always listened to your mother. Do as I say, Eros,** _ **or else."**_

"Your threats don't scare me anymore, mother," Emily cackled. "I'm done with being _mommy's pet._ You know why?"

She smiled. "Because _I'm bored."_

Emily snapped her fingers, revealing a bow and a steel arrow in her hands and suddenly shot the mirror with a satisfying crack.

Ethan stumbled back, nearly bumping into people waiting for the washroom. He quickly went back to the table and buried his face in his phone, trying to remain calm as Emily returned.

"Sorry I took so long!" Emily chirped, her wings seemingly gone. "I just got a call from someone, and you know how time flies when you're having _fun_!"

"Y-Yeah," Ethan stuttered. She stood up again and gave Ethan a bright smile.

"And look!" Emily said in a cheery voice, pointing to her clean shirt. "All gone!"

Ethan blinked at her, not knowing exactly what to say.

"T-That's...great," he stammered.

She picked up her phone and slipped it in her pink handbag.

"Anyway, I have to go!" she chirped. "I had a lovely time with you! And thank you _so_ much for your suggestion of the forest — I'll make sure to tell him the great news and credit you! Seeya!"

She left with a happy skip, and Ethan took a deep breath.

' _Was that the kind of thing you wanted to know to hold against her?'_ his brain dully joked. Ethan looked in the direction of where she walked away and took a deep breath — if he was going to save Benny, he had to prepare first.

* * *

 **a/n- dun dun DUN! shoutouts to ocedaturtle for being the closest! see, she isn't a descendant or a demigod of cupid! she _is_ cupid! aha, what a stupid way to keep a secret :P **

**so basically all will be answered tomorrow! are you excited? i'm so frickin' excited for you to see what i've been up to!**

 **drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow!**

 ** _semper in custodiam (latin)_**


	11. Preparation

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a new chapter of...this story (can't introduce it anymore, you know what's happening :P)**

 **so how did you like last chapter, huh? i'm mainly asking because past tobn is writing this right now due to the how busy my weekend is going to be, so i hope the feedback is good! i mean, you're probably all really shook, and that's okay, because that's what i am here for :)**

 **side note: do you know 'inside out'? how in the end they looked in everyone else's brain too and it was hilarious? i loved that concept so much, so go ahead and laugh about how silly this is :P**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **fangerdanger6- glad i could catch you by surprise like that! i definitely enjoyed writing in that plot twist. a little trivia for you — that was actually supposed to be ethan finding out through some texting thing, but i found that too silly to actually do :P nonetheless, i hope you enjoy the chapter :D**

 **bennyweirlover17- oh, benny isn't gonna die...*smiles nervously* anyway i am glad you found the chapter so thrilling! just you wait — the next three chapters are going to be a rollercoaster ;) thank you for the review!**

 **mbav fan66- yup! the cat's out of the bag! emily has a lot more to it than meets the eye. and i loved slipping in the angel comment because i knew, lol :P and don't worry — you'll find out what's gonna happen now :D thanks so much for your review as always, fanfic buddy :)**

 **anyway, on to the chapter! don't want to keep you waiting ;)**

 **disclaimer: i can't really express how much i want to own mbav and its characters, but am not able to :P i will stick to owning the plot and emily, i guess, which should be second best :P**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 11: "No matter what the situation, he always comes prepared."**

 **X~*~X**

Mrs. Morgan takes a deep breath — is she sure she wants to do this?

Of course she had to do this. That's his son in there, and she, no matter how dire the situation, had to be there to love and support him.

' _He's a teenager, Samantha,'_ her rationality pointed out. ' _Teenagers are weird, and the last thing they need is your judgment.'_

' _But that's your son!'_ her morality pointed out. She straightened up and nodded — here goes nothing.

With a plate of slightly cold beef and rice in her hands, she slowly cracked open the door and instant darkness flooded at her feet.

The room was completely dark, apart from the computer screen illuminating her son's face. Music played loudly through Ethan's headphones, allowing him to barely notice her.

"Ethan?" she asked, but when Ethan remained unfazed, she asked again more loudly, "Ethan, honey?"

Ethan perked up and slipped the headphones off his ears and let them fall on his shoulders. He turned around.

"Um, whatcha need, mom?" he asked lowly. Samantha gulped, seeing his pale face covered by the darkness in the room and his hood.

"I came to bring you dinner," she said lightly, "again."

"And again, I'll pass, thanks," he said. "Plus, I don't want a full stomach for what I'm about to do."

' _No judgment,'_ her rationality reminded her. She took a deep breath.

"Are you sure?" she asked again. "And can you please let in some light? You look like vampire cramming for exams."

Ethan's eyes widened. "Sarah! Mom, that's a perfect idea. Thank you!"

He pulled out his phone and began texting Sarah. His mom slowly backed up.

"O-kay then," she said, bringing the plate with her. "Are you going to be up late?"

"I'm actually going out at midnight in the woods," he answered, already putting his headphones on.

She opened her mouth to protest, but her brain helpfully reminded her of the task at hand.

"I'll always support you, son," she said, even if he didn't hear her, and left, trying not to look as weirded out as she was.

* * *

He set the phone aside and focused on the computer screen again.

' _So Emily is Cupid,'_ his brain rationalized, ' _but the person in the mirror_ — _her mom_ — _called her Eros.'_

He decided to search both of them terms and tapped the desk anxiously at what the results were.

' _Cupid is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Eros,'_ his brain explained. ' _Though that doesn't explain why her mom was persistent on the name Eros…'_

He stared mindlessly around his dark room and his eyes fell on his solar system project that was on the top of his shelf. A particular planet caught his eye.

' _Venus,'_ his brain suddenly said. ' _Venus was said to be the mother of Cupid, which is all classical/Roman mythology. Of course, her mom seemed to prefer her Greek origins, which is Aphrodite, for...reasons? Maybe because greek mythology is more common. It doesn't really matter."_

He frowned. ' _This means that Emily prefers to be called Cupid, as she did say that she preferred her Roman roots...maybe because it's more known? Or maybe it's because she wants to stop listening to her mom, which would make a lot of sense.'_

He sighed. ' _Either way, her mom is her weakness according to Greek and Roman mythology, because like she implied, Emily always listens to her.'_

He scribbled "mom — aphrodite" on a sticky note below "weaknesses" before his phone rang. He looked down and smiled.

"Hello?" he said, putting it on speaker.

" _Ethan, open your damn window and let me in."_

Ethan blinked, facing his closed window and noticed the silhouette of his friend. He grinned, going up to open the window. He winced at the sudden light, and let the vampire in.

"Jesus, and I thought I was the vampire," Sarah said, looking at the darkness of his room. "It's six o'clock — satanic practices in the dark usually start at midnight."

"Ha ha, very funny," Ethan said sarcastically, closing the window and closing the curtains. "I just don't want Emily to know that I'm on to her — she obviously has some kind of magic that tracks almost everything I do. I need this to be a top secret mission."

Sarah fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You are such a geek, and I'd tease you more if I wasn't your best wingman."

"Sure," Ethan said distractedly. He moved back to his computer and asked, "Are you caught up and everything?"

"I mean, all I know is that Emily's messing with Whitechapel's future 'it' couple and I have mythical butt to kick."

Ethan laughed. "That should be enough."

Sarah peered over her shoulder and looked at the computer screen.

"What do you have so far?"

Ethan sighed. "So far, Emily's weaknesses include her mom, who prefers her Greek origins."

"I mean, that's a start," Sarah said. "You said that you saw her talking to Aphrodite in the mirror, right? Maybe you can grab her attention somehow, or summon her in the same way that Emily did."

"That's probably something for Benny's grandma," Ethan answered.

Sarah mused aloud, "What I don't understand is why Emily would choose Benny out of all people. What was her intention? Not gonna lie, but living as a god sounds pretty nice to me."

"She said she was bored," Ethan said slowly. "I mean, that could be a start. Cupid wasn't really the god of love because his actions usually lead to mischief and he caused trouble. Maybe Emily created this female physical body for herself and wanted to fool around a bit. She always listened to her mom...maybe this is just an angsty teenage phase or something."

"Do gods have angsty phases?"

"I don't know," Ethan said, verging on frustration. "What I do know is that Emily's sole intention was to be amused. She probably got bored...up there. Which is why she snuck 'down here' to cause some trouble. Of course, Whitechapel is a supernatural hotspot, which might explain why she came here."

"Okay, yeah, sure, but what does she want out of this?" Sarah asked. "There's not really anything to go by except for 'fun'."

Ethan hummed, before sighing.

"That is the only intention, I suppose," Ethan said. "She wants to have fun before she has to go back. Of course...the consequences can't be good. She could do anything she wants with Benny...she might even try to bring him back with her."

"Is that possible?" Sarah asked, slightly nerved at the idea. Ethan shrugged.

"I don't know," he said again, scrolling through more articles. "Apparently Cupid was described to have three arrows: a gold one, which is easily curable and is for a gentle kind of 'smiting'; a silver one, that is more compelling; and an...an arrow of steel."

His eyes widened, and Sarah frowned.

"What does steel have anything to do with it?" she asked, a bit nervous. "Ethan, what is it?"

"The arrow she shot the mirror with in the washroom," Ethan murmured. "It was steel."

"So?"

"Steel is apparently an arrow used to make a love-wound that...that never heals."

Sarah's eyes widened, and Ethan stood up and began pacing in the dark room.

"She wanted to seal the deal," Ethan said, everything slowly clicking. "She wanted to seal the deal with him _tonight._ At midnight."

"If she makes this metaphorical love wound, Benny will never be the same," Sarah said worryingly.

"Of course, she'll start off easy," Ethan said, becoming more nervous. "She'll start by infatuating him. She probably knows that I know, and will use Benny to...eliminate us."

"Cupid never did like obstacles," Sarah mumbled.

"Then she'll pierce Benny with the steel arrow," Ethan finished. "Who knows what happens after that — she might be taken back, or she might find a way to stay. Either way...Benny is going to get hurt, and he'll never be in control again."

The two remain silent. Sarah looked at the time.

"I guess that means we have to start planning," she said. "If you're ever going to get your soulmate, you have to be at the forest at midnight _alone."_

His rationality is screaming at him, but he agrees without hesitation.

"Of course I'll go alone," he said, knowing that there was probably more, but didn't care. "There's only one Benny, which means only one of us can have him."

He smiles. "Emily is done with stealing him away from me. It's my turn."

* * *

 **a/n- how was that for revelations, huh?**

 **i hope you enjoyed it! tomorrow is the big showdown! and it's crazy how this story is ending so soon...yikes. it sucks because you guys are going to have to read a million words about me ranting about love in the end. look forward to that on your valentine's day :P**

 **but enough with the spoilers — drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow ;)**

 _ **choinneáil ar a choinneáil ar (irish)**_


	12. Bewitched

**a/n- wassup? it be tobn here with a new chapter of my bethan valentine's day fic!**

 **this is it my friends! this is the twelfth chapter, which is the final showdown! are you excited? i am excited. two more chapters and this story is done, but i am so pumped to show you what i am planning! i hope you like it a lot :)**

 **side note: i'm sick with a fever, so appreciate that this chapter is even here, lol :P**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **bennyweirlover17- well you are gonna be on the edge of your seat for a few more chapters my friend ;)) things are only going to speed up from here, and when it does, it'll blow you away ;) thank you for the review as always :D**

 **mbav fan66- i mean, maybe listening to your mom for thousands of years makes you go a little crazy :P that would've been a really good plot device, actually — originally, emily was supposed to be good and was trying to get ethan to confess by falling in love with benny to piss him off, but i figured it would've been better if she was just a bit mischievous. not evil, but a trouble maker :P anyway, thank you for the review and enjoy the chapter!**

 **i won't keep you here for much longer! read on, my friend :)**

 **disclaimer: i *cough cough* don't own mbav or its characters. though i wish i can get some magical cure for a fever :/**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 12: "He never lets someone tell him what to or what to feel because he knows he's in control.**

 **X~*~X**

As planned, Ethan went inside his garage later in the night and grabbed his bike. As he rolled his bike onto the driveway, he pulled out his phone; he had eight minutes to get to the forest before midnight to possibly save Benny's life. It would take five minutes if he went really fast, and he might be able to stop them early.

' _Are you sure this is a good idea?'_ his rationality whispered, trying to get things straight one last time. ' _Maybe you just saw a weird reflection in the mirror that looked like win—'_

' _ENOUGH!'_ his morality cut off. ' _This is serious, and it is all happening. It is not a figment of your imagination. Now listen to me: Benny is in danger, and this is literally the most rational and morally-right thing to do now.'_

Ethan blinked at the sudden realization and his rationality said, ' _Be smart out there.'_

He smiled softly, hopping on his bike and speeding onto the empty road as fast as he could.

His heart was racing with every pump of his pedals, but his mind kept telling him to go. This his final chance — his one shot of redemption.

He makes it to the woods in four minutes.

* * *

"Come on, Benny, pick up," he whispered anxiously, walking to the heart of the forest with his phone near his ear. "You'd make this a lot more easier on me if you answered…"

" _Hey, this is Benny; leave a message at the beep — BEEP!"_

' _Stupid Benny and his stupid voice messenger,'_ his thought bitterly.

' _Focus at the task a hand,'_ his rationality and his morality said at the same time. Ethan nodded, brushing a few twigs and sticks out of his way and pocketing his phone.

Eventually, he caught sight of what he needed to. His eyes widened and everything seemed to slow down.

"Benny!"

Emily, whose hand was on Benny's cheek, turned around at the sudden noise. Benny turned around too, and they both looked at Ethan.

"Ethan?" Benny asked, a bit surprised. His confused voice echoed throughout the woods. Emily pulled back and masked a fake smile.

"Ethan, I know we let you tag along on the first date, but I kind of wanted it just to be Benny and I tonight," she said, her sweet voice leaking venom. Ethan narrowed his eyes.

"Save it, Emily," he growled. "I know who you are. I know what you want with Benny. But I am not letting it happen, so give him up _now."_

Emily batted her eyelashes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, dude, I know you're my wingman and all, but now is not really the time," Benny said, digging his hands in his pockets. "If you don't mind, can you, um, skidoo?"

"Skidoo?" Ethan echoed, verging on the brink of frustration. "Benny, she's dangerous."

"She doesn't seem dangerous to me," Benny replied, and Ethan sighed, facing Emily again.

"Tell him who you are, Emily," he demanded. "The act is over. I know who you are and what you came for. Your fun is over."

Emily began to walk towards Ethan, her smile disappearing.

"Fun?" she echoed darkly. Her frown turned into a mischievous grin. "My fun has just begun."

"Just tell him who you are" Ethan said slowly, backing away from Emily. "Tell him that you aren't from Eros at all, but you _are_ Eros."

Benny frowned, and stared at Emily.

"What is he talking about, Emily?" he asked quietly. "He isn't right...is he?"

Emily flashed a smile towards him and Benny gulped. "Pretty boy...you should know who to trust by now, don't you?"

Without warning, she whispered words under her breath and a pair of wings popped out of her back. She had a leather quiver in between her wings as well, holding a steel arrow and three normal hunting arrows. Bow in her hand, she began to lift off the ground. Benny's eyes widened, and Ethan instinctively went to his side.

"Well, this can't be good," Benny said, blinking. Ethan stared at him incredulously.

"You think?" Ethan answered sarcastically.

" _You should know better,"_ Emily said, her voice a higher pitch than before, " _than to trust the god of Love."_

"You aren't the god of love," Ethan spat. "You...you don't even care about love!"

"You're a _god?"_ Benny asked at the same time. "Are you telling me that, all this time, I have been sticking my tongue down a baby boy's throat?"

Ethan winced, looking at Benny weirdly. "Not now."

Benny huffed. "Fine. Later."

" _There will be no later,"_ she said darkly. She pointed her finger at Benny's chest and grinned.

" _Now to see who you really love."_

Suddenly, something gold flashed off Benny's neck. Ethan stared at him in a dumbfound shock, and watched as Benny's eyes glazed gold.

' _The necklace,'_ he thought frantically.

" _A necklace from_ _ **Eros,**_ " Emily had said on their date. Ethan's eyes widened.

"Gold," he murmured.

Benny started to walk towards Emily slowly, each step turning into a lovestruck stagger towards the floating god. Emily cackled, holding out her hand. Ethan grabbed Benny's wrist in attempts at stopping him.

"Benny, you have to snap out of it," he said quickly. "You know who you love — you're in control of your emotions, and not the other way around."

"Emily," he murmured, before forcefully pulling away from Ethan. "Ethan, you have to let go. I have to go."

"Benny, stop it!" Ethan exclaimed, but Benny pushed him back. He stumbled onto his back and watched helplessly as Emily lowered and planted a kiss on Benny's cheek.

"Be a dear?" she whispered in his ear. "Take care of our little problem, okay?"

She smiled at Ethan and added, "Because you love _me."_

The necklace on Benny's chest glowed a bright gold and Benny turned around and started walking towards Ethan, a trail of magic leaving from his fingertips.

"B-Benny, you really don't have to do this," he stuttered. Benny shot his first ball of magic at Ethan, who rolled under it.

"I love _her,_ " he said in a darker tone than before and shot another beam of magic Ethan's way. He quickly leaned back, watching it go over his chest and nearly graze his nose.

' _You have to do something,'_ his rationality suddenly said.

' _You can't hurt him,'_ his morality said at the same time.

Ethan took a deep breath — both of them were right, but there had to be a way to satisfy both.

Suddenly, his eyes went back on the gold necklace, which was pumping out a gold shine every second. Ethan's eyes widened.

' _The necklace,'_ he thought.

Ethan charged towards Benny, tackling him on the ground by surprise. Benny landed on his back, letting out a grunt before pinning Ethan on the ground.

" _Her over everything,"_ he whispered, a deadly spell charging in his fingertips. " _I love her."_

The gold necklace was dangling in front of Ethan's nose, and he grinned.

"You don't," Ethan whispered, "and it doesn't take a flimsy god for you to know that."

Without warning, he pulled the necklace off Benny's neck in a single snap, and heard Emily's screams in the background.

"You _idiot!"_ she screamed. Benny blinked, before weakly standing to his feet.

His heart was pounding — Ethan could practically hear it. The spell had worn off, sure, but there was something happening.

As Benny stood there, somewhat awestruck, Ethan faced Emily.

"Face it, Eros!" he screamed. "He's not going to love you! He never did, and he never _will!"_

" _I AM CUPID!"_ she shrieked, pulling out a regular arrow and shot at Ethan. "You're ruining my fun! My fun, _my Benny!"_

The arrow was spiralling towards Benny, and Ethan instinctively threw himself at the spellmaster, taking them both down and watching as the arrow pierced a nearby tree.

"Benny, you have to snap out of it," he said frantically as he brought the two of them to their feet. Benny's eyes were glazed over — no doubt looking for the necklace, which seemingly had its charm on him still.

"E-Eth…" Benny trailed off, not knowing how to respond or what to say. Ethan looked closely, and Benny looked _scared —_ an internal battle was happening in his brain and he...he didn't know what to do.

What was he trying to decide? Better yet, what was he trying to battle?

Emily began to prepare another shot.

" _He can't snap out of love!"_ Emily cackled. "Even without the necklace...no one can snap out of love."

She shot another regular arrow at Ethan and Ethan's eyes widened. He found a thick piece of wood and threw it in front of his face, shielding himself from the arrow.

The tip of the arrow merely touched Ethan's nose through the wood.

" _Maybe he just needs a reminder of who he loves,"_ Emily said with a creepy laugh. She pulled out the steel arrow and grinned. "A permanent reminder. An engagement, we'll call it. _Let's seal the deal."_

Ethan's eyes widened.

"Who do you love, Benny?" he asked, spinning him to face him. "Deep down in your heart, tell me who you love? Look deep inside yourself. Who do you lo—"

"You."

* * *

It was a blur after that. Brown hair and tanned skin sped towards Emily and knocked her down by surprise.

Speaking of surprises, Evelyn stood in the middle of the forest and looked at the sky.

She spoke words in Ancient Greek, pleasing the preference of Aphrodite, and shot a beam of lightning into the sky.

In a flash of white, a bright shadow descended from the sky, blinding everyone by its radiating beauty.

" _NO!"_ Emily shrieked, standing up and facing Benny. " _MY FUN! YOU'RE RUINING MY FUN!"_

Desperate, she shot the steel arrow at Benny. He quickly said a spell and stopped the arrow mid-flight.

"Nice try," Benny said smugly, "but I'm done with your fun."

" **See, Eros?"** Aphrodite whispered. " **In the end, you'll always have to listen to your mother."**

Emily screamed, and before she could be taken away, she pulled out the last hunting arrow.

"You're no fun!" she screamed, her skin cracking to reveal a small, blond baby boy, resembling the pictures of Cupid that Ethan recognized. " _If I can't have my fun, no one can"_

The two gods disappeared, but out of the light came a spiralling arrow.

Everything slowed down, and Benny watched as the arrow went straight for his heart.

' _This is it,'_ he thought wearily, ' _I'm going to die.'_

' _You deserve it after everything you did,'_ his rationality muttered.

' _You did wrong, but you can't leave yet,'_ his morality pointed out.

Ethan watched as the arrow went from a meter away to five centimetres away from piercing his skin.

' _Be smart out there,'_ his rationality told him.

' _Do the right thing,'_ his morality told him.

" _Take every chance you get"_

…

Everything went by too fast, and all Benny saw in front of him was a blur of brown hair.

* * *

 **a/n- i won't even say anything ;)**

 **drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you tomorrow :D**

 _ **zadržati na čuvanje (crotian)**_


	13. Confession

**a/n- wassup? it be a sick tobn here with a new chapter of a not-so-sick valentine's story.**

 **yes, i am sick. not with the love-bug, but with a fever. yay me. so i am here, miserable in bed while i make a story about love. that's definitely not what i expected over the course of this story :P**

 **but that's okay, because at least you guys seem to be enjoying it, right? _right?_**

 **shoutouts to...**

 **ocedaturtle- to be honest, i was a bit confused as well. when you mentioned that cupid isn't a greek god in one of your reviews, i actually searched it up and realized that you were right — cupid is the latin/roman counterpart to the greek god eros. same thing, different origins. interesting stuff, huh? needless to say i was kind of shook too. in a way, you did give me the idea of the eros/cupid preference, so thank you! and thank you for your review — i hope you enjoy the next two chapters!**

 **bennyweirlover17- well i can definitely confirm that benny will not die, so that's a plus. and i can promise you that things are going to be a bit more chill and will wrap up the story quite nicely, so you don't have to worry about that :) thank you for your review as always ^-^**

 **mbav fan66- fun fact: sarah was actually supposed to _die_ because she was the one who was going to take the arrow in the heart, her last words being "see...? i am a good wingman", but i figured that would be too sad for such a humorous story :P but hey, spellmasters have brown hair too...;)) nah, i went for the obvious choice, as you will finally see :P thank you for your review, fanfic buddy!**

 **and with that, enjoy the second to last chapter! technically, this is my last author's note for this story as i will be posting the explanation behind the ending of this story tomorrow, along with a message to you guys, so have fun with that.**

 **for now, i just wanted to say thank you so much for reading this story and making it what it is. your comments and reviews about what you think will happen and just your overall reactions made me have a lil' more hope for this fandom. long live mbav :)**

 **disclaimer: i *clap* don't *clap* mbav *clap clap* or *clap* its *clap* characters, *clap* dammit *CLAP*  
**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Day 13: "No matter what, he'll always be the first to confess."**

 **X~*~X**

A steady beat of a heart that wasn't his.

"I'm not really sure why you did that," Benny whispered. "That was pretty stupid."

He paused, and added, "I was pretty stupid."

…

 _Everything happened too quickly._

 _Emily — Eros, he needed to remind himself — towered above them in the air, and he had trouble remembering why he was in here in the first place._

' _You,' his brain helpfully reminded him. 'You, you,_ _ **you.'**_

 _She was pointing at something on his chest, and he saw a shine of gold light. His insides felt fluttery, and the opinionated voices in his head changed._

' _She is gorgeous,' his brain whispered dreamily. 'I can't really rationalize why this is happening so quickly, but it just...feels right.'_

…

"Grandma said Emily is probably going to be punished, or whatever that means," Benny said before laughing half-heartedly and a, "I don't know why I keep calling her Emily. Her name is Eros. Or fucking-Cupid. I don't know. I don't care."

He didn't realize he was shaking until then, and he pulled his hands back from the edge of the bed.

…

' _Feels...right,' his morality repeated, but it merely seemed like an echo in Benny's ear. 'Feels...right…? This doesn't feel right. I am his morality, dammit — what would you know about what's right and what's wrong?'_

 _Benny didn't stop until he found himself in front of Emily. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his cheek, and everything skyrocketed inside of him. His heart was racing, but every step was worth it because_ _ **she loves him, and so does he.**_

" _Be a dear?" she whispered in his ear. "Take care of our little problem, okay?"_

 _She's staring somewhere — wait, does she mean Ethan? — and says that she really does love him._

 _That's all he really needed, right?_

…

"I honestly can't believe I didn't notice it before," Benny murmured, shaking his head with a small smile. "That damn cupcake, whatever you were show me the day after, the flirting with Sarah, the piano — you were telling me all along, weren't you?"

 _Ethan said nothing._

"...you aren't really going to give me the silent treatment, are you?" Benny joked, a hint of desperation hidden in his voice.

 _Ethan said nothing,_ and Benny realized that he was really good at saying nothing.

…

' _You're going to hurt him…?' his morality whispered, sounding a bit broken and confused. 'That's...that's Ethan, isn't it?'_

' _It's for Emily,' his rationality pointed out. 'We do anything for Emily because we love her.'_

" _You don't," he thought in words that weren't his, "and it doesn't take a flimsy god for you to know that."_

 _It was Ethan's voice, but those were his thoughts. Something was ripped off his neck and he felt lighter. He blinked, confused to where he was and what he was thinking, but he realized that he had full control again,_ _ **but didn't know what to do.**_

" _Who do you love?" is the next thing he hears._

' _Girls,' his rationality immediately says, then specifies, 'Emily.'_

' _How can you like Emily?' his morality argued. 'They were planted in your brain.'_

' _But at one point, you really did like Emily, didn't you?' his rationality pointed out. 'Before the whole necklace thing happened, you really did love her for a reason, and you know what that reason was.'_

…

"I'm really sorry," Benny said, holding Ethan's hand. Ethan ' _pretends'_ not to stiffen at the touch, and Benny looks away from him. "I know that's the stupidest thing ever, but I really am."

 _One.  
_ _Two.  
_ _Three._

 _ **Ba-bump.**_

 _One  
_ …  
 _Two  
_ …  
 _Three_

…

 _ **Ba-bump.**_

 _One  
_ …

 _Two  
_ …

…

…

' _You never loved Emily,' both of the voices said._

" _Benny?" He could hear his voice now. "You have to snap out of it."_

 _He tried saying his name. Did he say it? He didn't really know. His brain seemed to shut up, and now it was just him and his own thoughts._

' _Because you never loved Emily,' he thought. 'Because Emily loved video games, loved Muse, loved movies like he loved movies, loved sleeping over on weekends, loved being with him since they were kids, loved taking care of him, loved being his best friend for a lifetime, loved building this town together,_ _ **and he loved him.**_ '

 _Benny paused. 'He loved—'_

" _You."_

…

 _Three._

* * *

Ethan woke up on a hospital bed, his chest feeling tight and sore. He blinked, trying to clear up the blurs in his vision, and saw a familiar pair of green eyes that didn't see his.

"It was you," he whispered, crying. He was squeezing the bedsheets in his hand. "It's always been you, E. The way Emily acted...the way I saw her... _it's always you."_

" _But she's also the female version of you, if you think of it. That's exactly what_ _ **you'd**_ _say,"_ is a thought that came to mind.

So that's where that thought came from.

Strangely, the two voices in his head weren't talking. Usually, his rationality would kick Benny out, but his morality would be torn between what Benny did wrong and what Ethan thought was right.

They were quiet — maybe this wasn't a rational nor moral thing to comprehend.

"She was you," Benny admitted. "Everything I saw in her, I see in you. Every day…"

He was laughing through his tears — he hated when Benny cried. He cried so much when he was a kid that Ethan just grew up to hate it.

He closed his eyes when he noticed he was about to look down again.

"Everyday it's the same thing," Benny whispered. "It was me cowering in a corner, or chickening out. I didn't have the confidence you had. I knew it was too good to be true."

 _Ethan said nothing,_ but he was screaming inside. He had to rationalize something, figure out if what he was doing was actually right.

Benny stood up.

"I really do understand," Benny said, "really, I do. It's just that this was really hard to comprehend right now."

He paused, and added, "I still don't know why you did that, by the way. After everything that I ever did to you — all the tears you had to cry — I would never really expect you to still love me."

Benny sniffled. "This is the cheesiest thing I ever said in my whole life."

He then paused, and Ethan's eyes remained closed.

"I mean, to my defence, it's twelve now," Benny finally said. "So happy Valentine's Day, Ethan Morgan."

He heard the footsteps fade away, and Ethan opened his eyes as soon and before the door closed again—

"Benny?" he whispered. "Benny, shut the hell up."

The door opened slightly.

"You are a dork," Ethan chuckled. "You are the most oblivious, dumbest, most idiotic _dork."_

…

He heard him laugh as he walked back in.

"Was I the idiot?" was the first thing Benny asked.

Ethan smiled. "It's still debatable."

* * *

 **a/n- dawwwwwwwwwwwww.**

 **stay tuned for the finale of this story, where i throw one more curveball at you guys and make this a little more realistic for a fanfiction ^-^**

 _ **Przechowywać na przechowywanie na (polish)**_


	14. Love

**Day 14: "He loves me."**

 **X~*~X**

When he kissed him, it was an orchestrated performance with silent fireworks. God, he was sore everywhere, and his heart stung like a bitch — with every racing beat it fucking stung, _but it was still racing._

But if kissing him could be permanent, dammit, he didn't have to get the hell out of the damn hospital bed ever again.

He imagined violins dominating the symphony with the piano that originated — the creaky and off-key notes he once played — echoing quietly, reminding him that _yeah, it was still there, but look where you are now._

Dammit, he made him feel so fucking good.

Why did he love Benny Weir? It was too complicated to get here. Did he love him so much that he would risk his life for him, and tolerate broken cupcakes and stolen performances?

This was crazy.  
They were crazy.  
 _This_ was crazy; he was kissing Benny _fucking_ Weir.

What is this stream of consciousness, he wondered. This wasn't him rationalizing something, or him debating if what was happening was right or wrong. Maybe they found peace somewhere.

He didn't want anything to end. He was so tall and dreamy and every girl's dream boyfriend, _and now he was his._

Voices sung in the background of his imaginary orchestra, and the strings and the brass and the windwood instruments just _exploded._ The original piano began to improve and a symphony of love began to play.

God, he was so cheesy. It was like a cheesy fanfiction coming to life. But he couldn't help it because he just felt his heart swell and his stomach flip.

Was this love? Was this what falling in love was like? Was love pulling back from _him_ and being so close that they could practically feel their breaths on each other? Was love hearing him whisper "I care about you so much" against your skin?

What did love feel like? Ethan would never really be able to rationalize what it felt like because it was just a mushed-together pile of words on a screen that didn't matter.

It could be the littlest things, he realized. It could be asking someone out to dinner. It could be taking a literal arrow in the heart for them. It could be saying three words and _that could be it._

He never wanted this symphony to end. He wanted to be in his arms for the rest of his fucking life. If this was what he worked so hard to get — if he dreamed of this moment for years and years — why did it feel so...surprising?

That's when he heard it.

"I love you, Ethan."

* * *

...wait, _what?_

That was it? That's what it sounded like? Ethan replayed the three words over and over again in his mind and blinked — yeah, that _was_ it.

Why was he questioning it so much? This is what he wanted to happen. He wanted him to love him the same way that he did. He wanted his stupid, cheesy fanfiction.

" _I just wanted to...make them feel the way I feel."_

" _You can't force love, E,."_

" _I know...I kind of said that wrong, didn't I."_

 _ **No you didn't.  
**_ _ **You said that exactly how you wanted to say that.**_

"I'm sorry," Ethan whispered, pulling back, "no you don't."

Benny blinked, reeling back in surprise.

"I...what?" He seemed just as confused as he was.

' _What are you doing?!'_ his rationality _and_ his morality screamed.

Ethan broke out into a smile, and Benny frowned. He then started to somewhat _laugh...?_

This wasn't right.  
This wasn't his fairytale ending.

Ethan shrugged with a tired smile.

"You were right," he said, "you can't force love."

"Ethan, I—"

"Really, I don't mind," Ethan said, forcing out a laugh. "I'm sorry for laughing; I'm just a bit surprised. Here I am, in a hospital bed; not recovering from an arrow in the heart, but from the _the best fucking kiss I ever had in my whole life."_

Benny couldn't fight off the smile.

"Here I am," he continued, "getting the fairytale ending that everyone wanted. The one that _I_ wanted. It just...it just doesn't work that way, doesn't it?"

"I'm not following you here," Benny said quietly, grabbing Ethan's hand. "This isn't a story, Ethan, this is _us."_

"I know, I know," Ethan chuckled, pulling his hand closer to him. "But I've always known you loved me. You love me, and that's all that matters, but you don't love me like that."

"Not yet," Benny said slowly, suddenly realizing where Ethan was going.

"You don't have to love me now just because I woke up and I saved your life and because I decided I love you a long time ago," Ethan explained. "You have our whole life to decide."

Benny nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Of course," Benny said with a smile. "I mean, I still want to kiss you. And I still want to go out with you. And I want to take you to fancy orchestras and plain pizzerias. I still want to _try._ "

"I love that you do," Ethan answered honestly. "I would love if we did all those things."

Benny smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Fine," he whispered. "Later."

Ethan broke out into a smile, and Benny pulled out a chair and leaned across the bed to lay his head on Ethan's chest.

…

Why did he fall in love with Benny Weir?

 _Because he loved him too._

* * *

 **~ a word from the author ~**

 **this ending was not the final ending. below is the exact note of what chapter 14's outline was supposed to be:**

" **14\. Love (Benny treats Ethan to a candlelit dinner, and the two seal their relationship. Epilogue when they celebrate Valentine's Day with their three kids.)"**

 **do you see the problem here? yeah, this was the ending that all of us wanted, but that was my perception of love two years ago.**

 **this story was completely experimental, even if it was ready for two years. first of all, i found out that outlines change, and you don't have to stick to them all the time. i for sure didn't — there was supposed to be a musical, and a scrapbook, and a stupid metaphor about a ship. mind you, the idea of this story came from two years ago.**

 **second of all, when i was two years younger than what i am today, i never knew what love is. guess what? i'm two years older than i was before and i** _ **still**_ **have no fucking clue what love feels like. does it feel like the orchestrated version above the line, or does it just feel like a tiny pop and that's it?**

 **above the line of ethan's realization is what would've happened if everything was right. deep down, it wasn't really right, was it. humour me and rationalize the situation, will you? did that all seem right to you? because it wasn't. love isn't character a pining for character b the whole time then character b miraculously loves them in the end. love is about patience.** _ **development.**_

 **i'll tell you the explanation behind this ending. i have recently watched 'la la land', which was frickin' amazing. i'll try not to spoil it too much because if you are reading this, you should watch that damn piece of art, but i just wanted to point out that loud music and beautiful symphonies when you kiss is** _ **not**_ **what love is (viewers of the movie know what i mean). everything can't be perfect in the end because there are sacrifices you have to take to get love. that was basically ethan throughout the whole story — he sacrificed his beliefs, his morals, his dignity, and it was all for benny. he has that now, but he knows of the realization that love is about waiting and it's about patience.**

 **cupid being in this story is a real throwback to my story two years ago about love because cupid is not the same as i wrote him before (for starters, here it's a human girl, lol). cupid represents the illusion of love, to go back to an essay i wrote for english. with outside influences, the image of love can become blurred. emily was a physical example of that for benny, but in the end,** _ **so was ethan.**_ **benny loves ethan, don't get me wrong, but have you noticed how i slipped in lines like "you can't force love?" or "you can't control how someone feels"? did you notice my line about control in chapter 12? that's what i am talking about. ethan and emily (the same people to benny), and even us as the readers, were trying to sway benny to who he loves. except this ship shouldn't really choose that for him. did we all want the romantic and dreamy bethan ship to sail?** _ **of course we did.**_ **but that isn't what love is — love is developing a relationship and it not being perfect is** _ **absolutely beautiful.**_

 **yes, benny loves ethan. that's my fucking otp. but i want you to remember that fanfiction fantasies are not love.**

 **...happy valentine's day is what i meant to say. i hope you find someone that really loves you. i should say that i am a sucker for love. i secretly adore the idea of someone caring about you more than you care about yourself. but does that mean i'm going to force it to happen? of course not.**

 **thank you for reading. i hope you liked the story. i can say with a strong degree of confidence that this was the most fun i've ever had with a story in a long time. so drop a review if you liked it if you like, and i will see you in the next story :)**

 **happy valentine's day.**

 **love,  
** **tobn xx**


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